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APPENDIX  21.— REPORT  OF  CHIEF  OF  ORDNANCE.  1883. 


REPORT 


BRUSH  MATERIAL 

AND  THE 

MANUFACTURE  OF  BRUSHES. 


CAPTAIN  A.  L.  VARNEY, 

Ordnance  Department,  U.  S.  A. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 
1883. 


a 


. 


Appendix  2  1. 


REPORT  ON  BRUSH  MATERIAL  AND  1HE  MANUFACTURE  OF  BRUSHES 

BY  CAPT.  A.  L.  VARNEY,  ORDNANCE  DEPARTMENT. 

(41  plates.) 

Wateryliet  Arsenal, 

West  Troy ,  N.  Y.,  September  15,  1883. 

Lieut.  Col.  A.  Mordecai, 

Commanding  Watervliet  Arsenal  : 

Sir  :  1  Dave  the  honor  to  submit  herewith  a  report  embodying  such 
information  as  I  have  been  able  to  gather  bearing  upon  the  sources, 
description,  preparation,  &c.,  of  brush  material,  and  upon  the  manu¬ 
facture  of  brushes. 

The  subject  of  quality  and  relative  cost  of  raw  material  first  prompted 
investigation  with  a  view  to  determining,  if  possible,  the  best  means  of 
procuring  horse-brushes  for  the  Army;  whether  by  supplying  materials 
and  paying  for  manufacture,  or  by  purchase  of  finished  brushes.  The 
soon-discovered  liability  of  the  Government  to  suffer  fraud  and  extor¬ 
tion  by  both  means,  led  to  the  conviction  that  a  more  thorough  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  bristle  trade  and  of  brush  manufacture  than  could  be 
gathered  from  sources  near  at  hand  was  indispensably  necessary  for 
proper  selection  of  stock  and  intelligent  inspection  of  horse-brushes 
when  purchased  “ ready-made.”  Pursuant  to  this  conviction,  the  au¬ 
thority  of  the  Chief  of  Ordnance,  and  your  letter  of  instructions  of  May 
8,  1882, 1  visited  Boston,  Providence,  and  NTew  York  City,  to  push  my 
inquiries  among  bristle  merchants,  manufacturers  of  brush  fiber,  and 
the  city  libraries.  Very  little  could  be  learned  from  books,  but  the 
amount  of  information  obtained  from  other  sources  added  interest  to 
the  subject,  gave  further  conviction  of  its  importance  to  the  Depart¬ 
ment,  and  induced  an  enlargement  of  the  scope  of  the  original  design, 
so  as  to  include,  in  a  superficial  way,  the  whole  subject  of  brush  manu¬ 
facture. 

Finally,  for  reasons  set  forth  in  the  report,  it  was  recommended  that 
the  Department  undertake  the  manufacture,  not  only  of  horse-brushes, 
but  of  all  other  varieties  used  in  the  military  service.  <  -  . 

The  wisdom  of  the  recommendation  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  the  suc¬ 
cess  with  which  it  has  been  put  into  execution  with  reference  to  horse- 
brushes,  and  the  satisfactory  prosecution  of  the  work  for  nearly  eight 
months  at  this  arsenal.  -.In  hi  :i;  kh<> 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

A.  L.  VARNEY, 

Captain  of  Ordnance. 
i'l'uiim  -jo  oldalogov 


5249— Ap  21 - 1 


2 


[First  indorsement.] 

Watervliet  Arsena.l, 

September  18,  1883. 

Respectfully  forwarded  to  tlie  Chief  of  Ordnance,  U.  S.  A.,  with  the 
recommendation  that  this  letter  and  the  accompanying  report  be  pub¬ 
lished  for  the  information  of  officers  of  the  Ordnance  Department. 

The  report  embraces  much  matter  that  cannot  be  found  in  print,  and 
Captain  Varney  deserves  much  credit  for  the  perseverance  and  labor 
he  has  devoted  to  the  subject. 

A  report  upon  the  manufacture  of  horse-bruslies  at  this  arsenal  and 
upon  the  inspection  of  such  brushes  for  the  Ordnance  Department  will 
be  submitted  hereafter. 

A.  MORDECAI, 
Lieutenant- Colonel  of  Ordnance , 

Commanding. 


REPORT  ON  BRISTLES,  BRUSH  FIBER  AND  BRUSHES,  WITH  ESPECIAL 
REFERENCE  TO  BRUSHES  USED  IN  THE  MILITARY  SERVICE  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

Part  I. — Bristles. 

Of  the  materials  used  by  the  brush-maker,  bristles  form,  by  far,  the 
most  important  item.  For  such  uses  they  possess  qualities  which  ren¬ 
der  them  superior  to  all  other  known  substances.  They  are  described 
as  a  thick,  glossy  kind  of  hair,  or  elongated  epidermic  appendages  au- 
algous  to  the  feathers  of  birds  and  the  scales  of  reptiles.  The  name 
is  often  applied  to  the  quills  of  porcupines,  and  the  mustaches  or  whisk¬ 
ers  of  cats,  seals,  &c.,  but  more  generally  to  the  hair  with  which  swine 
are  covered.  Hogs’  bristles  are  hard,  transparent,  horny  substances, 
of  a  prismatic  or  nearly  cylindrical  figure,  consisting  of  roots  from 
which  the  hair  is  developed,  anti  shafts  or  stems  continuous  with  them. 
The  outer  extremities,  usually  split  into  two  or  more  parts,  are,  in 
brush -makers’  parlance,  denominated  “ flags.” 

The  stem  of  the  bristle,  like  that  of  other  hair,  is  composed  of  a  horny 
integument  of  minute  imbricated  scales,  with  free  ends  toward  the 
flag,  a  softer  pith  or  medullary  substance  in  the  center,  and  an  inter¬ 
mediate  fibrous  layer,  constituting  two-tliirds  of  the  bulk  ot  the  hair. 

By  some  authorities  the  two  interior  substances  are  classed  together 
as  medullary.  Two  essential  parts,  the  cortex,  or  investing  coat  of 
scales,  and  the  medulla  or  pith,  are,  however,  found  in  the  hairs  of  all 
animals,  notwithstanding  wide  differences  of  appearance,  ranging  from 
the  fur  of  the  seal  and  mole  to  the  bristles  of  the  hog,  the  quills  of  the 
porcupine,  and  even  the  horn  of  the  rhinoceros. 

Bristles  are  hard,  stiff,  and  elastic  to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  of  all 
animal  products  are  the  least  liable  to  spontaneous  decomposition. 
They  are  practically  insoluble  in  water,  even  at  a  high  temperature; 
but  are  decomposed  in  chlorine  gas,  and  become  a  soft  glutinous  mass. 
In  chlorine  water  they  are  unchanged  except  being  deprived  of  more 
or  less  coloring  matter.  Prolonged  exposure  to  the  action  of  sulphur¬ 
ous  acid  gas  also  bleaches  them  without  other  preceptible  effect. 
Though  tenacious  of  their  natural  hues,  they  repel  artificial  colors,  and 
can  only  be  dyed  with  difficulty.  A  preliminary  steeping  for  twelve 
hours  in  lime-water  will  prepare  them  for  the  reception  of  colors,  either 
vegetable  or  mineral,  but  at  the  expense  of  durability.  Black  dyes  are 


3 


used  more  frequently  than  any  other,  and  may  be  prepared  by  adding 
to  a  strong  decoction  of  logwood  a  small  quantity  of  the  proto-sulphate 
of  iron.  For  50  pounds  of  hair,  25  pounds  of  logwood  should  be  boiled 
in  a  suitable  quantity  of  water  for  three  hours,  then  the  fire  withdrawn, 
and  12  ounces  of  sulphate  of  iron  introduced  and  stirred.  The  hair, 
washed  in  soft  water  to  remove  the  lime,  is  then  immersed  in  the  bath 
and  kept  there  for  twelve  hours  or  more. 

The  quality  of  hogs’  bristles,  in  the  natural  state,  varies  with  the  age, 
sex,  and  habitat  of  the  animal,  and  with  the  season  of  the  year  when 
slaughtered.  Those  from  old  are  stronger  than  those  from  young- 
swine,  except  that  in  extreme  old  age  they  lose  much  of  their  elasticity 
and  are  consequently  less  valuable.  Bristles  from  the  boar,  whether 
wild  or  domesticated,  are  superior  to  those  from  the  sow;  and  those 
from  hogs  slaughtered  in  winter  are  longer  and  stouter  than  those  from 
hogs  slaughtered  in  the  summer.  In  summer  they  are  curled  and  short, 
and  it  is  only  in  winter  that  they  attain  their  greatest  strength  and  de¬ 
velopment.  The  best  bristles  come  from  swine  habituated  to  the  severe 
climates  of  the  higher  latitudes,  where  nature  seems  to  have  provided 
them  with  extra  covering.  Hence  Polish,  Russian,  and  especially  Sibe¬ 
rian  bristles,  are  long  and  strong;  and  it  is  from  these  countries  that 
England  and  the  United  States  draw  a  great  portion  of  their  stock  to 
make  brushes,  for  which  the  short  and  weak  native  products  are  not 
suitable.  The  longest  and  stiffest  bristles  grow  along  the  spine  of  the 
hog,  especially  in  the  region  of  the  shoulders,  where  they  sometimes, iu 
Siberia,  attain  the  remarkable  length  of  12  inches.  For  several  inches 
on  either  side  of  the  spine,  however,  and  sometimes  well  down  on  the 
sides  of  the  animal,  much  of  the  hair  is  sufficiently  coarse  and  stiff  for 
many  kinds  of  brushes.  The  whole  hairy  vesture  of  the  hog  is  in  fact 
turned  to  profitable  account  iu  one  way  or  another,  that  which  is  too 
soft  and  fine  for  the  brush-makers’  use  being  sold  to  saddlers  and  up¬ 
holsterers  as  “  wool.” 

Bristles  of  excellent  quality  for  many  uses,  though  inferior  in  length 
and  strength  to  those  from  Northern  Russia,  are  obtained  from  France, 
Turkey,  and  Germany.  In  all  these  countries  bristles  have  for  many 
years  formed  a  conspicuous  article  of  commerce,  especially  in  Germany, 
to  which  country’s  export  has  been  added  in  the  course  of  trade  a  con¬ 
siderable  portion  of  those  from  Turkey  and  Russia. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  book  written  by  a  German  brush- 
maker  of  Dantzic  :* 

Most,  bristles  which  come  from  the  colder  climates  are  black  or  gray,  and  need  not 
therefore  be  dyed.  Prussian  bristles,  which  are  generally  gray,  are  not  so  long  and 
thick  as  Polish  and  Russian.  So-called  German  bristles  are  still  weaker  and  shorter; 
but  their  intrinsic  value,  which  is  toughness,  is  greater  than  all  others.  Their  color 
is  almost  white,  termed  “faded”  in  the  terminology  of  the  brush  manufacturer.  Since 
really  no  white  bristles  are  to  be  found  they  must  be  bleached,  which  can  only  be 
done  with  difficulty.  Only  the  bristles  from  the  very  top  of  the  back  of  German 
swine  can  be  used  in  brush  manufacture,  the  others  being  too  short  and  weak.  In 
Germany,  however,  very  many  Polish  and  Russian  bristles  are  consumed,  besides 
those  of  native  growth.  In  Berlin  particularly  there  are  several  large  factories 
which  for  the  most  part  get  their  bristles  from  Dantzic,  where  merchants  receive  them 
from  Polish  Jews,  who  collect  them  all  over  Poland.  These  merchants  export  them 
either  by  the  bushel  or  in  bundles  of  five  to  ten  pounds’  weight  to  the  brush  manu¬ 
facturers  who  have  to  assort  them,  as  a  bushel  always  contains  several  kinds.  Al¬ 
though  the  exterior  of  the  bristles  may  appear  as  if  all  the  bristles  were  long  and 
strong,  yet  those  in  the  middle  are  frequently  poor. 

In  Germany  the  trade  in  bristles,  like  the  fur  trade,  is  mostly  in  the  hands  of  the 
Jews.  Russia  has  the  largest  export  trade  in  bristles.  England  receives  yearly 

*  Neuer  Schauplatz  der  Kiinste  und  Handwerke  der  Biirsten-  und  Pinselfabrikant. 
Weimar,  1842.  Translated  for  this  paper  by  C.  Bjerregaard,  Assistant  Librarian 
Astor  Library,  New  York  City. 


4 


2,000,000  pounds  from  that  country.  The  value  of  bristles  imported  into  England  in 
1H32  was  3^,741  pounds  sterling.  The  Russian  export  is  mostly  from  St.  Petersburg 
and  Archangel.  The  best  kinds  are  those  called  Akatka  and  the  poorer  Suchui.  Poland, 
too,  has  a  large  export  trade  in  bristles,  particularly  to  Posen,  Krakau,  Wien  (Vienna), 
and  Breslau.  In  Kbnigsberg,  whereto  this  article  is  brought  principally  by  Jews,  as 
also  in  Dautzic,  they  assort  and  divide  the  bristles  into  bin  bundles  and  little  bundles. 
The  first  have  little  heads  on  the  lower  ends  and  the  bristles  are  very  stiff;  the  refuse 
is  large  ;  the  bundle  weighs  from  6  to  7  pounds.  This  kind  generally  goes  to  England. 
The  smaller  bundles  containing  the  shorter  and  setter  bristles,  weigh  from  one  to  two 
pounds  and  go  to  Holland. 

In  Konigsberg  it  is  also  the  practice  to  divide  the  bristles  into  crown  bristles  ( kron - 
borsten),  crown  refuse  bristles  ( kronbrackborsttn ),  and  refuse  bristles  (brakborstev ). 

Nuremberg  is,  in  Germany,  the  great  market  for  bristles.  There  crude  bristles  are 
collected  from  all  parts  of  Germany  and  assorted  into  box-bristles,  parcel-bristles,  and 
pencil-bristles.  The  last  are  gray,  reddish- black,  and  faded  in  color,  and  are  tied  up 
in  parcels  each  of  a  quarter  of  a  pound  weight.  The  assortment  is  regulated  by  the 
strength,  length,  and  color;  only  the  long  ones  are  called  box-bristles  ( achachu'hjut ). 
About  three  ounces  are  laid  down  in  a  box  and  sent  to  Italy  and  France,  where  they 
are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  “wings”  and  the  so-called  “souls  of  shuttles”. 
Raw  bristles  (i.  e.,  bristles  not  sorted),  or  raw  hair,  are  those  which  the  manufacturers 
buy  by  the  bushel. 

The  Nuremberg  bristle  dealers  have  to  iirst  buy  a  permit  from  the  corporation  or 
guild  before  they  can  trade.  Every  trader  in  bristles  must  burn  his  stamp  upon  the 
box,  and  many  stamps  ar  e  considered  a  good  thing.  The  best  known  are  the  Grapes, 
the  Imperial  Globe  with  a  cross  on  it,  the  Oakleaf,  the  Fir  Tree,  the  Lily,  the  Cup, 
the  Post  Boy’s  Horn,  the  Lamb,  the  Rose,  the  Image  of  the  Virgin,  the  Arrow,  the 
Anchor,  &c. 

Hungarian  and  Turkish  bristles  go  by  way  of  Triest,  Vienna,  and  Prague  to  Leipsig, 
Breslau,  and  Nuremburg,  where  they  are  prepared  for  Hollandish  and  English  use. 
All  kinds  of  prepared  bristles  have  their  peculiar  letters  and  numbers,  and  are  also 
known  by  the  countries  whence  they  come.  Hence  the  different  and  peculiar  price 
lists.  In  Nuremburg  bristles  are  also  dyed  in  all  desirable  colors. 

Besides  Nuremburg,  Hamburg  has  a  great  trade  in  bristles  and  exports  largely  to 
Spain,  Portugal,  North  America,  the  West  Indies,  Ac.  In  the  trade  is  found  a  kind 
of  “lime  bristles”  which,  although  they  may  be  long  and  strong,  are  of  poor  quality, 
because  they  are  obtained  as  a  by-product  from  the  tanning  of  hog  skins.  They 
make  fair  brushes  and  pencils,  but  do  not  wear  well,  as  their  strength  has  been  im¬ 
paired  by  contact  with  lime.  They  are  readily  recognized,  for  when  they  are  bent 
short  they  remain  in  that  position  or  break  at  once.  Sometimes  this  inferior  stock  is 
mixed  with  good  assortments,  but  to  discover  the  fraud  it  is  only  necessary  to  test 
them,  say  fifteen  or  twenty  at  a  time,  to  see  whether  or  not  they  break. 

The  manufacturer  of  brushes  must  pay  a  much  higher  price  for  the  dyed  bristles 
than  for  the  undyed,  especially  for  those  of  scarlet.  He  ought,  therefore,  himself.to 
dye  them. 

The  dyeing  of  bristles  is  still  a  secret  with  certain  manufacturers,  who  carry  on 
their  business  with  few  workmen,  and  as  the  many  have  no  knowledge  of  dyeing,  we 
w  ill  here  state  what  is  necessary.  For  dyeing,  the  whitest  bristles  must  be  selected, 
unless  they  are  to  be  dyed  black,  for  which,  of  course,  any  other  color  can  be  used. 
They  must  be  boiled  for  three  hours  iu  alum  w  ater  with  a  little  tartar,  whatever 
color  they  are  to  have,  even  for  black,  because  the  boiling  is  necessary  to  make  the 
bristles  take  the  color.  The  bristles  must  not  be  put  into  the  water  in  bundles,  but 
must  be  untied.  The  fire  must  be  kept  up  to  give  an  even  temperature  all  the  time 
so  that  the  alum  w  ater  is  kept  boiling  without  interruption.  There  must  not  be  lit¬ 
tle  water  and  many  bristles,  because  the  water  evaporates  and  the  bristles  become 
dry.  The  best  preparation  is:  For  one  pound  of  bristles  take  three  and  one-half 
quarts  of  river  or  rain  water,  and  dissolve  into  it  half  a  pound  of  alum  and  two  ounces 
of  tartar.  It  is  best  to  use  a  copper  vessel  for  the  boiling — one  deeper  than  w  ide — 
because  the  water  evaporates  from  it  more  slowly.  It  ought  also  to  be  kept  covered, 
to  prevent  the  too  rapid  escape  of  steam.  Instead  of  a  copper  vessel  one  of  clay  may 
be  used  ;  yet  the  latter  is  less  suitable  because  more  easily  broken.  Whatever  vessel 
is  used,  the  boiling  mass  must  be  stirred  up  thoroughly  every  ten  minutes.  If  the 
manufacturer  can  command  a  copper  vessel  large  enough  to  contain  8  to  12  pounds 
of  bristles  at  once  in  the  alum  bath,  so  much  the  more  economical  for  him  ;  yet  he 
must  take  care  to  mix  the  alum  and  tartar  in  due  proportions  for  the  increased  weight. 
During  the  last  hour  of  boiling  the  dyes  should  be  mixed  and  the  color  bath  pre¬ 
pared. 

Some  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  bristle  trade,  as  a  feature  of  'Rus¬ 
sian  commerce,  is  indicated  by  the  following  facts  gathered  from  various 
authorities : 

As  early  as  1793  the  value  of  the  bristles  exported  from  Russia  was 


5 


reported  to  have  been  742,000  rubles.  For  some  years  pievious  to 
March,  1845,  when  the  duty  was  repealed,  England’s  annual  importa¬ 
tions  from  Russia,  France,  and  Germany  amounted  to  about  1,800,000 
pounds,  all  but  300,000  pounds  of  which  came  from  Russia.  After  this 
time  they  soon  exceeded  2,400,000  pounds,  a  like  proportion,  no  doubt, 
still  coming  from  Russia. 

From  a  report  on  the  animal  substances  displayed  at  the  great  exhi¬ 
bition  in  Loudon  in  1851  the  following  quotation  is  made: 

The  finest  specimens  of  bristles  were  sent  by  Russia,  to  which  country  that  article 
forms  a  most  important  branch  of  trade,  its  export  of  bristles  amounting  to  more 
than  2,000,000  pounds  annually. 

It  is  not  likely,  however,  that  the  entire  amount  of  England’s  impor¬ 
tations  of  Russian  bristles  was  consumed  by  English  brush-makers, 
since,  in  later  years,  a  portion  of  the  Russian  bristles  imported  by  the 
United  States  has  come  through  English  ports,  though  more  through 
German  ports,  as  will  be  presently  seen.  The  United  States  Census 
Report  for  1870  furnishes  the  following  statistics: 


Number  of  brush-making  establishments 


Number  of  steam  engines  employed . 

Aggregate  horse-power . 

Number  of  water-wheels  employed .  . 

Aggregate  horse-power . 

Number  of  hands  employed . ^ 

Number  of  males  over  1(3  employed .  1,481  1 

Number  of  females  over  15  employed .  522  [ 

Number  of  youths  employed  . .  422  j 

Amount  of  capital  invested . 

Value  of  materials  used  annually . 

Amount  of  wages  paid  annually . 

Value  of  annual  products . 


157 

18 

257 

3 

21 


2,  425 


$1 , 683, 993 
1,312,897 
691,405 
2, 694,  823 


To  supply  this  industry,  which  has  increased  rapidly  during  the  last 
decade,  not  only  a  large  amount  of  domestic  stock  has  been  consumed, 
but  also  considerable  importations  of  foreign,  as  shown  by  the  follow¬ 
ing  figures  from  the  reports  of  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics : 


Bristles  received  from  Germany. 


1872.  430,324  pounds . $592,794 

1873.  659,818  pounds .  721,  537 

1874.  461,487  pounds .  568,766 

1875.  442,283  pounds .  567,  786 

1876.  551,302  pounds .  531,503 


Besides  these  importations  from  Germany,  which  are  largely  made  up 
of  Russian,  Turkish,  and  Polish  products,  there  were  received  during 
the  same  periods  considerable  quantities  from  England  and  France,  but 
statistics  are  not  readily  obtainable. 

The  amount  of  the  Russian  product  included  in  the  aggregate  of 
United  States  importations  is  difficult  to  determine.  A  duty  of  1 5  cents 
a  pound  is  collected  at  the  United  States  custom-houses  on  all  foreign 
bristles. 

The  Treasury  reports  exhibit  the  amounts  received  from  various 
countries,  together  with  the  amount  of  revenue  derived  therefrom, but 
no  statistics  showing  what  proportion  of  the  total  importation  was  col¬ 
lected  in  Russia.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Polish  and  Turkish  bristles, 
these  also  finding  their  way  through  German  markets  to  ports  on  the 
Baltic  and  North  Seas,  whence  they  are  exported. 

In  former  years,  when  all  Russian  stock  was  imported  by  sailing  ves¬ 
sels  direct  from  Cronstadt,  the  harbor  of  St.  Petersburg,  regular  lists 
were  published  there  showing  tbe  exact  quantity  of  their  exports  to  the 


6 


United  States,  such  as  bristles,  red  leather,  hemp,  &c.,  but  as  bristles 
are  now  imported  in  a  roundabout  way,  that  source  of  information  is  cut 
off.  During  the  summer  months  Russian  imports  came  by  steamer  from 
St.  Petersburg  to  Lubeck,  thence  by  rail  to  Hamburg,  and  from  that 
port  by  steamer  to  New  York  ;  and  during  the  close  of  navigation,  from 
November  to  the  middle  of  May,  by  rail  from  St.  Petersburg  to  Ham¬ 
burg  and  thence  by  steamer.  New  York  receives  the  bulk  of  United 
States  importations,  the  other  Atlantic  cities,  as  Baltimore,  Philadelphia, 
and  Boston,  importing  but  a  trilling  amount,  said  to  be  not  more  than  10 
or  20  casks  a  year. 

St.  Petersburg  is  the  most  important  point  in  Russia  whence  bristles 
are  brought.  They  are  collected  from  amongst  the  peasantry  all  over 
Russia  and  Siberia  by  itinerant  peddlers,  and  carried  to  the  prominent 
centers  of  trade  in  the  interior,  where  they  are  “dressed”  and  packed 
for  shipment  to  St.  Petersburg.  The  best  come  from  Siberia,  though 
formerly  those  from  the  Ukraine  were  most  esteemed. 

There  are  no  abattoirs  in  Russia  as  in  the  United  States.  Most  Rus¬ 
sian  bristles  come  from  swine  killed  by  peasants.  The  peasant  wives 
usually  assist  in  plucking  the  dead  animals  and  are  allowed  the  bristles. 
They  assort  them  into  colors  and  sizes,  tie  them  in  small  bundles,  and 
store  them  away  to  await  the  peddler’s  coming. 

Frequently,  in  times  past,  the  best  of  the  bristles  were  reserved  and 
allowed  to  accumulate  until  the  occasion  of  a  daughter’s  marriage, 
when  they  were  given  to  her  as  a  dower.  Hence  the  name  of  “dower” 
bristles  and  the  reputation  they  have  had  for  excellence. 

Russian  bristles  are  assorted  as  to  color  into  white,  half  white,  yellow, 
gray,  and  black  ;  as  to  length  and  stiffness  into  okatkas,  firsts,  suchoys, 
and  seconds,  in  the  order  of  excellence,  okatkas  being  the  best.  There 
are  also  superior,  extra,  medium,  and  ordinary  okatkas. 

All  Russian  bristles  are  put  up  in  bundles  and  tied  with  thongs  of 
bark.  Firsts,  suchoys,  and  seconds  in  bundles  of  three  to  four  pounds, 
and  okatkas  in  bundles  of  about  one  pound.  They  are  packed  in  the 
interior  at  Moscow,  Jaroslav,  Archangel,  &c.,  in  casks  of  about  1,000 
pounds,  and  brought  to  St.  Petersburg  where  they  are  unpacked, 
“bracked,”  and  then  repacked  in  smaller  casks  of  about  500  pounds, 
termed  by  the  Russians  “  boy-casks.” 

All  bristles  exported  from  Russia  are  inspected  (“bracked”)  by  four 
experts  appointed  for  life,  two  Russians  and  two  foreigners,  who  ex¬ 
amine  every  bundle  and  throw  out  those  which  do.  not  come  up  to  the 
standard  in  length,  strength,  and  color.  These  inspectors  are  called 
“brackers.”  That  which  is  thrown  out  is  termed  “brack,”  and  is  sold 
at  a  lower  price  as  inferior  stock.  Next  to  tSt.  Petersburg  the  most 
important  bristle  market  is  Leipsic,  where  two  or  three  fairs  are  held 
annually,  the  principal  one  beina  in  the  fall  at  Michaelmas  time;  bristles 
from  Poland,  Gallicia,  and  Turkey  are  found  there,  as  well  aS  some  from 
Moscow.  One  or  tw  o  of  the  principal  packers  have  found  it  advisable 
to  send  their  stock  to  Leipsic  in  preference  to  St.  Petersburg,  the  ex¬ 
pense  being  less  and  the  bristles  not  being  subject  to  “brack.” 

Konigsberg  is  an  important  market  for  bristles,  especially  for  Polish, 
Courland,  and  some  Russian.  The  quality  of  Russian  bristles  is  said 
to  be  by  no  means  what  it  was  a  few  years  since.  Crossing  the  breeds 
with  Berkshire  hogs,  which  yield  excellent  pork  but  have  hardly  any 
bristles,  has  softened  the  Russian  stock. 

The  late  Turkish  war,  while  it  did  not  sensibly  affect  the  collection  of 
raw  materia],  is  said  to  have  somewhat  reduced  the  product  in  quality, 
the  hogs  having  been  slaughtered  when  young  and  before  the  bristles 


7 


liad  attained  full  development,  in  order  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  army 
for  subsistence  supplies.  On  the  other  hand,  it  greatly  influenced  the 
money  market,  depreciating  the  currency  and  reducing  the  rate  of 
exchange,  thus  greatly  favoring  the  importer.  The  quantity  collected 
has  also  somewhat  decreased  for  the  same  reasons.  It  is  ordinarily  from 
60,000  to  70,000  poods,  a  pood  being  equal  to  36  American  pounds,  or 
about  4,000  casks  a  year,  of  which  England  takes  the  bulk.  America 
comes  next,  and  the  remainder  is  divided  between  France  and  Ger¬ 
many. 


The  Russian  crop : 

Poods. 

Id  1876 .  72,  700 

In  1877  .  78,  000 

In  1878  .  64,  000 

In  1879  .  53,  000 

In  1880  .  55,  000 

The  1880  crop  of  55,000  poods  was  divided  as  follows: 

Poods. 

Okatkas,  stiff,  6  to  6-|  inches  long .  6,  400 

Firsts,  stiff,  44-  to  5  and  5|  inches  long .  12,  800 

Suchoys,  soft,  5  to  51  inches  long .  18,200 

Seconds,  soft,  3f  to  4-£  inches  long .  17,  600 


Following  is  a  general  classification  of  the  most  prominent  varieties 
of  foreign  bristles  used  by  American  brush-makers,  giving  lengths  in 
inches  and  the  prices  per  pound  at  Hew  York  quotations,  corrected  up 
to  May  11,  1882.  These  prices  will  vary  on  account  of  variations  in 
quality  in  the  same  brands,  and  with  different  dealers.  Furthermore, 
bristles  are,  of  course,  subject  to  the  same  fluctuations  in  price  as  other 
imported  goods,  dependent  upon  the  state  of  the  money  markets,  the 
rate  of  exchange,  supply,  demand,  &c.  A  considerable  advance  is 
noted  in  the  past  two  years,  especially  in  American,  Russian,  and  French 
bristles,  which  are  reported  as  growing  scarcer  and  of  poor  quality. 
Brush-makers  anticipate  a  further  advance  rather  than  a  reduction  in 
prices. 

RUSSIAN  BRISTLES. 


Okatkas : 

Superior :  Per  pound. 

White,  6|,  6f,  and  7  inches .  $2  50  to  $3  50 

Half  white,  6-J-  to  7  inches . , .  2  50  to  2  75 

Yellow,  6|  to  7  inches .  2  30  to  2  75 

Gray,  to  7  inches .  2  30 

Black,  6^  to  7  inches .  2  40 

Extra,  same  colors,  6-J  inches .  2  15  to  2  20 

Medium,  same  colors,  6J  inches .  2  10  to  2  15 

Ordinary,  same  colors,  6  inches .  1  85  to  1  90, 1  95 

Ordinary,  same  colors,  5i  inches .  1  65  to  l  70, 1  75 

Firsts : 

White,  4  to  5£  inches .  1  50  to  1  75 

Yellow,  4  to  5f  inches .  1  50  to  1  75 

Gray,  4  to  5f  inches .  1  35  to  1  50 

Black.  4  to  5f  inches  .  1  35  to  1  50 


Many  firsts  have  all  the  colors  in  concentric  rings  mixed  iu  the  same 
bundles  and  are  sometimes  called  u  plugged  firsts.”  Such  are,  of  course, 
sold  at  a  lower  price  than  those  which  have  been  dressed  iu  separate 
colors. 


*  Suchoys :  Per  pound. 

White,  4  to  5£  inches,  soft .  $1  00  to  $1  30 

Yellow,  4  to  5f  inches,  soft .  1  00  to  1  30 

Gray,  4  to  5£  inches,  soft .  90  to  1  20 

Black,  4  to  5f  inches,  soft .  90  to  1  20 


8 


Seconds : 

White,  34  to  44  inches .  75  to  90 

Yellow,  34  to  44  inches .  65  to  70 

Gray,  34  to  44  inches .  55  to  65 

Black,  34  to  44  inches .  50  to  60 


Seconds  are  shorter  but  not  necessarily  less  stiff  than  suclioys.  Any¬ 
thing  above  4£  inches  makes  suchoys. 

All  Russian  bristles  are  assorted  into  colors  and  grades  as  above, 
though  there  are  many  brands  of  varying  excellence,  taking  their  names 
from  the  packers  or  places  where  dressed. 

Some  of  the  brands  best  known  in  the  American  trade  and  highest 
esteemed  are : 


Brand. 

Okatkas. 

Firsts. 

Suchoys. 

Seconds. 

Kamtckatka . 

Inches. 

64 

Inches. 

5$ 

Inches. 

5* 

Inches. 

41 

Bogomoloff . 

64 

51 

54 

45 

Grebenikoff . 

61 

5} 

54 

41 

Susckkin . 

6j 

5  to  5| 

5 

41 

Sossoff  Zersclioff . 

61 

5  to  54 

5 

41 

Mescatinoff . . 

61 

5  to  51 

5 

41 

Mestschefl'sky . 

6 

5 

5 

4 

Russian  bristles  ‘‘bracked”  at  St.  Petersburg,  though  shipped 
through  German  ports,  generally  remain  in  the  original  packages  until 
they  reach  New  York,  and  can  be  relied  upon  as  of  uniform  and  stand¬ 
ard  excellence  as  to  length,  strength,  and  color,  according  to  brand. 

About  10  per  cent,  of  the  contents  of  each  cask  are  “  extra  long”;  that 
is,  they  are  from  a  quarter  to  a  half  inch  above  the  specified  length.  The 
Government  inspection  is  rigid  and  the  inferior  stock  is  always  rejected. 
As  noted  in  the  preceding,  however,  certain  Russian  packers,  to  evade 
the  “  brack  ”,  take  their  stock  to  Germany  and  sell  it  at  the  fairs.  Such 
Russian  bristles  are  at  least  of  uncertain  quality,  since  there  is  no 
Government  inspection  of  any  kind  outside  of  Russia. 


GERMAN  BRISTLES. 


Tectiner  bristles,  dressed  in  Tectin,  a  small  town  in  Russian  Poland, 
are  the  most  regular  of  those  classed  as  German.  They  are  really 
Polish,  but  are  called  German  by  dealers  to  distinguish  them  from  other 
Russian  brands.  They  are  assorted  into  grades  and  colors  as  follows: 


Extra  Spitz  Spitz :  Ber  pound. 

White,  4f  to  7  inches .  $1  95 

Yellow,  4£  to  7  inches .  1  60 

Gray,  4-f  to  7  inches .  1  40 

Spitz  Spitz : 

White,  4  to  44  inches . . .  1  45 

Yellow,  4  to  44  inches .  1  35 

Gray,  4  to  44  inches .  1  00 


Spitz  Spitz  usually  have  the  white  and  yellow  mixed  in  the  casks  but 
not  in  the  bundles. 


Spitz:  Cents.  # 

White,  34  to  4  inches .  90 

Yellow,  34  to  4  inches .  85 

Gray,  34  to  4  inches .  60 


9 


MEMEL. 


These  are  tied  in  small  bundles  of  1  ounce  to  1£  ounces,  and  are  quoted 
as  follows: 


Extra  Memel : 

White,  5  to  7  inches  .  $1  90 

Yellow,  5  to  7  inches .  1  50 

Gray,  5  to  7  inches .  1  35 

Memel : 

White,  4£  inches .  1  40 

Yellow,  4-J  inches .  .  1  35 

Gray,’  41  inches  .  1  15 


In  a  cask  of  600  pounds  of  Memel  about  140  pounds  are  white,  200 
pounds  gray,  and  260  pounds  yellow.  The  colors  are  all  mixed  in  the 


bundles. 

German :  Per  pound. 

Firsts,  white  and  gray,  4  to  5  inches .  $1  50 

Seconds,  white  and  gray,  4  inches . . 75  to  90  cents. 

S:;m  |  Paint  and  varnish  stock . 


German  firsts  and  seconds  are  tied  in  u  taper  ”  bundles.  About  15  per 
cent,  are  yellow,  and  the  remainder  white.  There  are  many  other  brands 
and  assortments  of  the  lower  German  grades,  but  their  names  are  of 
little  value  to  the  brush-maker,  as  both  names  and  qualities  are  con¬ 
stantly  changing. 

Courland  brands  are  similar  to  Memel  in  lengths,  colors,  quality,  style 
of  dressing,  and  price.  Meseritzer  brands  are  inferior  to  Memel,  Cour¬ 
land,  and  Tectiner,  and  worth  from  5  to  10  cents  a  pound  less. 


POLISH  BRANDS. 

Bristles  from  Poland,  Eastern  Germany,  and  the  Ukraine  are  classed 
as  Polish  by  most  dealers,  but  are  sometimes  sold  as  Memel.  They  are 
tied  up  in  bundles  of  a  few  ounces,  and  in  colors  like  the  Russian,  white, 
yellow,  gray,  and  black. 


Polish :  Per  pound. 

White,  41  inches .  $1  45 

Yellow,  4\  inches . 1  45 

Gray,  41  inches .  1  25 

Black,  41  inches .  1  25 

Per  pound  • 

Polish  white  and  yellow,  4f  to  7  inches . .  $1  95  and  upwards. 

Gray  and  black,  4f  to  7  inches .  1  65  and  upwards. 


KONIGSBERG  BRANDS. 

Prussian,  shoe,  soft  white,  51  to  7  inches . 

Inch,  stiff,  white . 

Inch,  stiff,  yellow . 

Grown,  white,  41  inches . 

Crown,  white,  4  inches . 


Per  pound. 
65  to  f  1  85 
2  00 
2  00 
1  15 
85 


TURKISH  BRANDS. 

Gallician  and  Austrian  bristles  are  sometimes  found  dressed  as 
Turkish,  though  Gallician  are  often  sold  as  such,  and  Austrian  as 
Memel. 

The  colors  are  white,  gray,  and  black ;  and  each  color  is  tied  up  sep- 


10 


arately  in  bundles  of  2  or  3  ounces.  Tbe  small  bundles  are  then  bound 
together  into  larger  bundles  of  1  or  2  pounds,  each  composed  of  various 
colors.  The  stitfest  Turkish  stock  comes  from  Bucharest ;  Leipsic  is  the 
principal  market,  apd  Hamburg,  Stettin,  and  Lubeek  the  points  of  ex¬ 


portation. 

•  Per  pound. 

Turkish,  44  to  7  inches,  white .  $2  00  to  $2  25 

Turkish,  4 £  to  7  inches,  black  and  gray .  1  65  to  1  80 


FRENCH  BRANDS. 

French  bristles  are  mostly  white;  they  are  bleached  nicely,  dressed, 
packed  in  small  bundles,  and  preserved  from  moths  by  paper  wrap¬ 
pings.  They  are  usually  imported  in  50-kilogramme  cases,  with  as¬ 
sorted  lengths  in  each  case.  The  most  important  brands  are  dressed 
and  packed  in  Paris.  The  most  prominent  dealers  are  Deseglise  Freres 
and  A.  Dupont.  Some  of  the  principal  brands  are: 


Deseglise,  1-7  [Nos.  1  to  7],  prdparde .  $1  40 

Deseglise,  2-8,  bean  blanc .  1  85 

A.  Dupont,  1-7,  demi  blanche . . .  1  10 

A.  Dupont,  1-7,  prdparde .  1  20 

A.  Dupont,  2-8,  beau  blanc .  .  1  65 


There  are  extra  sizes  (4-7  and  0-12)  that  are  only  imported  against 
special  orders  and  the  prices  are  not  quoted.  There  are  also  qualities 
selected  out  of  the  beau  blanc  called : 


Beau  blanc  forte,  2-10 .  $2  50  to  $3  00 

Beau  blanc  “extra”  forte,  2-10 .  3  25  to  3  50 

Beau  blanc  “extra”  forte,  zero .  4  50  to  5  00 


Lately  a  great  many  special  sizes  have  been  sold;  that  is,  selected 
bristles  for  special  purposes,  for  which  special  prices  have  been  paid. 

French  bristles  are  of  a  peculiar  pearly  whiteness,  and  are  assorted 
and  dressed  with  great  care.  The  “flags”  are  washed  clean  without 
having  been  broken  or  worn  away  in  the  process,  and  are,  therefore, 
soft  and  white,  and  especially  suitable  for  artists’  and  painters’  tools. 
The  finest  tooth  brushes  are  also  made  of  French  stock. 

The  lengths  of  French  bristles  are  designated  by  numbers,  though 
the  same  standard  has  not  been  adopted  by  the  different  packers. 
Deseglise  No.  1  is  2f  inches  and  A.  Dupont  No.  1  is  2i  inches  long. 
The  numbers  run  from  1  to  12  and  occasionally  higher.  The  difference 
between  any  two  consecutive  numbers  is  one-quarter  of  an  inch. 

AMERICAN  BRISTLES. 

SOURCE. 

Dressers  and  packers  of  American  bristles  obtain  the  “  raw  hair”  from 
the  great  pork-packing  establishments  in  the  Western  States,  some 
from  the  smaller  abattoirs  in  the  East,  and,  no  doubt,  a  comparatively 
trifling  amount  from  small  collectors  who  receive  them  from  peddlers, 
as  in  Bussia.  Contracts  for  bristles  and  hog’s  hair,  at  a  stipulated 
price  per  hog,  are  made  by  the  bristle  merchants  with  pork-packers  at 
the  beginning  of  the  winter  packing,  for  the  season  commencing  No¬ 
vember  1  and  ending  March  1,  and  for  the  summer  season,  commencing 
March  1  and  ending  November  1.  The  contractors  generally  employ 
their  own  pullers,  who,  as  fast  as  the  dead  animals  are  scalded,  pull 
out  the  longest  of  the  bristles  along  the  back  and  put  them  into  barrels, 
taking  care  to  separate  the  colors.  The  remainder  of  the  bristles  and 


11 


soft  hair  is  then  scraped  off  and  thrown  on  the  floor  where  each  day’s 
product  remains  until  the  following  morning,  when  it  is  gathered  up 
and  carted  away  to  a  field,  rented  or  purchased  for  the  purpose,  and 
spread  on  the  ground.  There  it  remains  until  it  has  become  thoroughly 
cleansed  and  “cured”  by  the  frost,  snow,  and  rain.  In  May  or  June,  or 
later,  according  to  season,  it  is  raked  up,  pressed  into  bales,  and  taken 
to  the  dressing  factory  or  to  the  market.  This  poorer  quality  of  field- 
bleached  bristles  is  said  to  form  a  considerable  article  of  export.  The 
better  quality  is  shipped  in  the  barrels  to  the  dressing  factory  whenever 
a  car-load  has  accumulated. 

DRESSING. 

The  process  of  “dressing”  or  preparing  “raw  hair”  for  the  hand  of 
the  brush-maker  involves  the  following  operations,  viz,  “soaking,” 
“wet-combing,”  “washing,”  “bleaching”  (white  stock),  “straighten¬ 
ing,”  “drying,”  “separating,”  “dry-combing,”  “dragging,”  and 
“bundling.”  The  bristles  which  fall  to  the  floor  during  these  opera¬ 
tions  are  termed  “riflings”;  they  are  restored  to  a  condition  suitable 
for  brushes  by  “picking,”  “recombing,”  “turning,”  and  “dragging” 
as  before.  What  finally  remains  is  called  “wool,”  and  is  sold  to  sad¬ 
dlers  and  upholsterers  for  stuffings,  or  “curled”  and  used  for  mat¬ 
tresses,  &c. 

SOAKING. 

When  bristles  are  received  at  the  factory  they  are  immersed  in  fresh 
water  while  still  in  the  casks,  holes  having  first  been  bored  in  the  heads 
to  admit  the  water.  The  object  is  to  stop  any  fermentation  that  may 
have  begun,  and  to  soften  the  dermatic  and  other  impurities  that  ad¬ 
here  to  them  so  that  they  can  be  easily  combed  and  washed.  The 
bristles  are  pulled  off  in  large  tufts  or  flakes  and  thrown  into  the  casks 
with  the  roots  adhering,  and  they  are  soaked  in  the  casks  to  avoid  the 
disarrangement  that  would  result  if  removed  and  soaked  in  open  vats. 

WET-COMBING. 

After  several  days’  soaking  the  bristles  are  removed  from  the  casks, 
the  workmen  picking  out  the  flakes  as  they  were  removed  from  the  an¬ 
imal,  and  piling  them  on  benches  with  the  flags  all  in  one  direction. 
They  are  then,  while  still  wet,  gathered  up  in  convenient  maniples  and 
combed  on  a  steel-toothed  comb  attached  to  the  front  of  the  bench,  roots 
and  flags  alternately,  to  separate  them  and  remove  as  much  of  the  ad¬ 
herent  matter  as  possible.  The  bundles  are  then  stacked  up  in  tubs  in 
concentric  rings,  with  the  flags  toward  the  center. 

WASHING. 

These  tubs  when  full  are  removed  to  the  washing  room,  where  rows  of 
small  vats,  raised  to  the  height  of  an  ordinary  work  bench,  are  arranged 
in  pairs  with  a  faucet  over  each,  one  for  the  supply  of  hot  water  and 
the  other  for  cold  water. 

The  bundles  of  bristles  are  removed  from  tin*  tubs  one  at  a  time  and 
washed,  first  in  hot  and  then  in  cold  water  the  workman  holding  the 
bundle  in  his  hand  and  manipulating  it  so  as  to  thoroughly  wash  it 
and  at  the  same  time  to  prevent  the  disarrangement  of  the  flags  and 
roots. 

In  washing  white  bristles  intended  for  paint  and  varnish  stock  strong- 
soap  is  used,  and  the  flag  ends  of  the  bundles  are  rubbed  on  the  flat 
surface  of  a  sharp-grained  stone,  such  as  a  grindstone.  Care  must  be 


12 


taken,  however,  not  to  scour  off  the  flags;  otherwise  they  would  be 
ruined  for  the  purpose  intended.  After  washing,  the  bristles  are  re¬ 
packed  in  clean  tubs  in  the  same  arrangement  as  before,  the  black 
going  to  be  straightened  and  the  white  to  be  bleached. 

BLEACHING  (WHITE  STOCK). 

The  bleachery  is  usually  a  small  brick  or  wooden  building,  divided 
into  compartments  of  convenient  size,  each  having  below  a  pit  about  2 
feet  deep,  in  which  sulphur  is  burned,  and  above,  wooden  gratings  in 
tiers,  on  which  the  bristles  are  spread.  After  being  exposed  to  the 
fumes  of  the  burning  sulphur  about  twelve  hours  they  are  returned  to 
the  factory,  and  subsequently  treated  precisely  like  the  colored  stock. 

STRAIGHTENING. 

All  bristles,  especially  those  collected  in  summer,  are  naturally  curved 
or  bent,  and  must  be  straightened  before  they  are  tit  for  brushes.  To 
effect  this  boys  are  employed  to  bind  them  together  in  bundles  of  2  or  3 
ounces,  usually  with  a  stick  in  the  middle.  After  binding  the  bundles 
are  arranged  on  wooden  racks  inside  a  steam-chest,  and  live  steam 
turned  on  for  several  hours. 

DRYING. 

On  removal  from  the  steam-chest  the  bundles  are  carried  to  the  dry¬ 
ing-room  and  spread  on  gratings  similar  to  thosein  the  bleachery.  Coils 
of  steam  pipe,  usually  on  the  floor,  supply  the  necessary  heat. 

SEPARATING. 

After  being  thoroughly  dried  they  are  unbound  from  the  sticks  and 
arranged  in  boxes,  still  keeping  the  roots  and  flags  together.  At  this 
stage  they  are  somewhat  matted  together,  and  to  separate  them  before 
combing  they  are  passed  through  a  machine  expressly  designed  for  the 
purpose.  One  consists  of  two  fluted  pieces  of  cast-iron  the  corruga¬ 
tions  fitting  into  each  other  like  the  teeth  of  gears.  The  lower  one  is 
stationary  and  the  other  made  bj'  appropriate  machinery  to  rise  and 
fall  upon  it  with  a  kind  of  sliding  motion.  An  endless  belt  runs  be¬ 
tween  them  in  a  direction  at  right  angles  to  the  grooves,  upon  which 
the  bristles  are  spread  transversely  or  parallel  to  the  grooves.  A  cut 
of  this  machine  is  not  readily  obtainable.  Another  machine  for  this 
purpose,  patented  by  W.  F.  Parks,  is  represented  iu  Plate  I.  This 
machine  consists  of  a  contrivance  by  which  the  adhering  masses  of 
bristles  are  made  to  pass  between  two  surfaces,  the  lower  one  of  which 
is  a  moving  band  or  belt,  on  which  the  bundles  of  bristles  are  spread, 
and  which  carries  them  underneath  an  inclined  slide  which  is  separated 
from  the  belt  at  the  end  where  the  bristles  are  inserted  far  enough  to 
permit  their  easy  introduction,  and  approaches  so  near  to  it  at  the  other 
end  as  only  to  permit  the  separated  bristles  to  pass  out  between  it  and 
the  moving  belt.  A  reciprocating  motion  is  given  to  the  slide  so  that 
while  the  bristles  are  being  carried  forward  on  the  belt  they  are  at  the 
same  time  being  rubbed  by  the  slide,  thus  cleaning  and  separating  them 
before  their  exit  at  the  narrow  opening.  Fig.  1  represents  a  longitudinal 
section  of  the  machine  through  the  line  A  B.  Fig.  2  represents  a  plan 
and  Fig.  3  a  cross-section  through  the  line  G  D  of  the  plan.  M  repre¬ 
sents  the  endless  belt  carried  upon  rollers  whose  journals  are  shown  at 


13 


a  a.  X  represents  the  slide  to  which  the  guides  o  o  are  attached,  mov¬ 
ing  to  and  fro  upon  the  bars  b  b ,  which  are  attached  to  the  frame.  P  is 
a  lever,  pivoted  at  R,  which,  together  with  the  crank  T  and  the  connect¬ 
ing-rod  S,  imparts  reciprocating  motion  to  the  slide  if.  The  distance 
between  the  slide  and  belt  is  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  at  one  end 
and  about  five-eighths  of  an  inch  at  the  other.  The  slide  has  a  recip¬ 
rocating  motion  of  about  3  inches.  Both  slide  and  belt  are  provided 
with  transverse  ridges  to  insure  a  more  thorough  rubbing  of  the  bristles. 
The  stock  is  gathered  up  as  it  leaves  the  separating  machine,  carefully 
replaced  in  the  boxes,  and  carried  to  the  combing  machines. 

COMBING. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  these  machines,  some  of  them  com¬ 
bining  the  operations  of  assorting  (sometimes  termed  “back-dragging”), 
combing,  turning,  and  dragging.  It  is  doubtful,  though,  whether  these 
more  pretentious  mechanisms  are  entirely  satisfactory,  since  in  some  of 
the  largest  factories  machines  are  preferred  which  do  the  combing  only, 
the  dragging,  assorting,  and  turning  being  effected  either  by  hand  or 
by  separate  machines.  In  the  largest  brush-making  establishments, 
even  where  raw  hair  is  used,  these  operations,  with  the  exception  of 
turning,  are  performed  by  hand. 

A  combing-machine,  such  as  that  last  referred  to,  is  represented  in 
Plate  II.  It  was  invented  by  X.  H.  Spaff'ord.  It  may  be  described  as 
consisting  of  a  horizontal  rectangular  iron-bed,  about  4  feet  long  by  1 
foot  wide,  supported  ou  four  legs  and  surmounted  in  the  center  by  a 
square,  tower-like  frame,  a  a,  Fig.  2,  whose  sides  meet  at  the  top  like  the 
rafters  of  a  house.  Revolving  in  this  frame,  with  its  axis  about  a  foot 
above  the  bed,  and  parallel  with  its  sides,  is  a  shaft,  ft,  with  both  ends 
projecting  a  few  inches  beyond  the  journal-boxes.  On  each  end  of  the 
projecting  shaft  is  a  crank  which  carries  a  pitman  sliding  through  an 
oscillating-guide,  d,  attached  to  the  frame.  Attached  to  the  lower  end 
of  each  is  a  comb,  c,  with  eight  or  ten  steel  teeth  about  3  inches  long. 
Power  is  applied  to  the  shaft  y.  and  rapid  motion  is  communicated  to 
the  cranks  by  means  of  the  belt  X.  At  each  end  of  the  horizontal 
frame  is  a  drum,  A  and  M,  Figs.  1  and  2,  each  with  four  grooves,  around 
which  run  four  belts  or  cords.  Beginning  with  M,  two  long  belts  or 
cords  pass  under  the  pulley  K,  over  the  pulley  I,  under  the  two  central 
pulleys,  then  over  the  drum  A.  Beginning  at  the  same  point,  the  two 
remaining  cords  pass  under  the  two  central  pulleys  over  the  pulley  Gr, 
under  the  pulley  E.  and  finally  over  the  drum  A.  Two  cords  or  belts 
also  pass  around  pulleys  K  and  T,  whose  axes  are  so  situated  that  the 
lower  branches  of  these  cords  bear  upon  the  surface  of  the  pulley  I, 
one  between  the  two  right-hand  cords  passing  over  M  and  A,  and  the 
other  outside  to  the  left.  Similar  cords  pass  over  E  and  S  bearing  upon 
Gr.  Motion  is  imparted  to  this  system  of  pulleys  and  drums  by  means 
of  a  worm  gear  and  toothed-wheels,  shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3.  A  flat  belt 
2  inches  wide  passes  around  the  pulleys  X  and  Q,  which  are  driven  by 
beveled  gears  shown  in  Fig.  3.  This  last  belt  serves  as  a  guide  against 
which  the  butts  of  the  bristles  are  placed  when  feeding  them  to  the 
machine.  To  operate  the  machine  the  bristles  to  be  combed  are  placed 
on  the  long,  round  belts  above  the  plate  O,  with  their  butts  resting 
against  the  small  flat  belt  P,  which  latter  moves  along  as  the  round 
belts  are  moved,  and  guides  them  until  they  pass  under  the  pulley  K. 
When  the  bristles  have  passed  pulley  K  they  rest  upon  pulley  I,  and 
their  butts  are  held  firmly  between  the  two  sets  of  round  belts  just  de- 


14 


scribed,  while  the  flag-ends,  which  are  free,  are  exposed  to  the  action  of 
the  comb  C;  th.nce  they  pass  on  under  the  pulleys  S  and  T,  and  while 
their  flags  rest  on  pulley  (4,  and  are  held  as  before  between  the  two  sets 
of  round  belts,  their  butts  are  combed  by  the  comb/;  finally  they  are 
received  by  the  operator  as  they  pass  over  the  drum  A,  and  are  care¬ 
fully  piled  in  boxes  ready  for  the  next  operation.  The  weights  attached 
to  the  elbow-levers  D  and  L,  combined  with  the  set-screws  and  slots  in 
the  boxes  B  B,  give  the  required  tension  to  the  belts  on  the  pulleys 
which  they  connect,  and  permit  the  passage  of  larger  or  smaller  quan¬ 
tities  of  bristles  along  the  belts,  holding  them  with  nearly  the  same 
firmness  while  being  combed.  A  counter-weight  i  on  the  crank-shaft 
balances  the  combs.  Sometimes  it  is  found  necessary  to  pass  the  bris¬ 
tles  through  this  machine  several  times  before  all  the  dirt,  doubled 
hairs,  and  “wool”  have  been  whipped  out  and  they  are  sufficiently 
clean  to  be  “  dragged”  and  “bundled.” 

Another  machine  for  combing  bristles,  patented  by  W.  F.  Parks  and 
L.  F.  Lannoy,  is  represented  in  Plate  III.  This  machine  operates  on  a 
different  principle,  and  its  service  requires  much  more  care  and  labor 
from  the  operator  than  the  preceding.  Bristles  to  be  combed  by  this 
machine  are  secured  in  bundles  of  suitable  size  in  a  kind  of  clamp  repre¬ 
sented  in  Fig.  3 ;  the  butt  ends  are  compressed  between  the  padded 
jaws  S  S',  Fig.  5,  by  a  partial  revolution  of  the  eccentric  B.  To  operate 
the  machine,  the  loaded  clamp  is  inserted  in  the  dovetail  slot  c  (at  a 
point  where  the  dovetailing  is  cut  away  to  receive  it),  with  its  tongue  in 
mesh  with  the  screw  D,  and  with  the  flags  of  the  bristles  presented  to 
the  action  ot  the  comb.  The  rotation  of  the  screw  D  gives  the  clamp  a 
motion  of  translation,  while  the  dovetail  Q,  engaging  under  the  flange 
o',  holds  the  clamp  down  to  its  bearings.  As  the  clamp  advances  the 
comb  begins  to  engage,  by  means  of  its  shortest  blade,  in  the  bristles, 
and,  as  the  clamp  is  drawn  forward,  the  succeeding  blades  engage  until 
all  are  in  operation  on  different  parts  of  the  bunch,  each  succeeding 
longer  blade  rehackling  with  deeper  penetration  the  portion  already 
traversed  by  its  shorter  predecessor  and  more  completely  ridding  the 
bundle  of  “shorts”  and  “doubles.”  On  reaching  the  next  opening  of 
the  slot  C  the  clamp  is  withdrawn  and  temporarily  unclamped,  and  hav¬ 
ing  had  the  butts  of  the  bristles  sufficiently  protruded  for  combing,  is 
reclamped  and  inserted  end  for  end  in  the  slot,  upon  which  the  work 
proceeds  as  before.  As  many  bunches  may  be  simultaneously  under¬ 
going  treatment  as  there  are  combs  in  the  machine. 

DRAGGING. 

Dragging  is  the  name  given  to  the  process  by  which  bristles  are  as¬ 
sorted  into  different  lengths  or  sizes.  The  bristles  having  been  thor¬ 
oughly  washed,  bleached,  and  straightened,  and  having  had  all  the  dirt, 
“shorts,”  and  “doubles”  combed  out,  are  taken,  a  few  ounces  at  a 
time,  struck  on  the  bench  to  even  the  roots,  then  set  flags  uppermost 
in  a  wooden  frame  with  a  movable  side,  in  very  much  the  same  manner 
as  type  is  set  in  a  printer’s  composing-stick.  The  frame  is  about  18 
inches  long  and  2  inches  high.  Against  the  fixed  side  is  placed  a  strip 
of  tin  2^  inches  high,  and  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  frame. 
Inside  this  are  placed  other  similar  strips  of  tin,  each  succeeding  strip 
being  a  quarter  of  an  inch  higher,  until  the  last,  which  is  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  lower  than  the  height  of  the  longest  bristles  to  be  “  dragged.” 
When  a  sufficient  quantity  of  bristles  has  been  placed  in  the  frame,  the 
adjustable  side  is  pressed  against  them  by  a  cam  and  lever,  clamping 


15 


them  close  against  the  tin  gauges.  The  workman  then  proceeds  to 
“drag”  out  all  the  bristles  that  project  above  the  highest  strip  of  tin, 
seizing  them  by  the  flags  between  the  thumb  and  the  edge  of  a  dull 
knife.  These  are  all  laid  in  a  tier  by  themselves,  the  first  strip  of  tin 
removed,  the  compress  tightened,  and  the  next  size,  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
shorter,  “dragged”  and  piled  also  by  itself. 

American  bristles  are  usually  dragged  down  to  2^  inches.  The  resi¬ 
due  after  the  final  dragging  is  denominated  “  bottoms.”  The  assorted 
sizes  are  termed  “  draggings.” 

In  brush  factories  using  “raw  hair,”  and  in  small  dressing  establish¬ 
ments,  the  dragging  is  done  without  the  aid  of  machinery  of  any  kind. 
The  workman  holds  a  small  bundle  loosely  in  his  left  hand  and  drags 
out  the  longest  bristles  by  the  flags  as  before,  frequently  “butting  down” 
the  bundle  to  keep  the  roots  even,  and  applying  it  to  a  “size  stick” 
(an  instrument  to  be  presently  described)  to  determine  the  lengths. 
Power  machines,  more  or  less  automatic,  are  sometimes  applied  to  this 
operation,  but  they  are  complex  and  expensive,  and  only  used  in  some 
of  the  largest  factories.  Such  a  machine,  patented  by  N.  H.  Spatford, 
is  represented  in  Plate  IV.  The  operation  of  this  machine,  briefly  de¬ 
scribed,  is  as  follows:  The  bristles  are  placed  in  the  box  H,  flags  upper¬ 
most,  carefully  “butted  down,”  and  further  secured  by  the  spears  or 
skewers  a'  u'  a',  passed  through  them  near  the  butts.  The  box  is  then 
secured  to  the  carriage  O,  and  power  is  applied  at  the  point  indicated 
by  the  crank  M.  The  machine  being  in  motion,  the  box  of  bristles  is 
fed  forward  by  means  of  the  cam-slot  D,  the  lever  S,  the  w  heel  II,  the 
pinion  P,  and  the  rack  Q.  The  crank  11  and  pitman  N  (Fig.  8)  give  a 
reciprocating  vertical  motion  to  the  slide  G,  which  carries  a  pair  of  nip¬ 
pers,  G  G  (Figs.  1, 3,  and  4),  made  to  open  and  close  at  the  proper  times 
by  means  of  the  arm  K  (attached  to  the  axis  of  the  movable  jaw^)  and 
the  cam  stops  21  and  L.  Descending ,  the  open  nippers  enter  among  the 
flags  of  the  bristles  in  the  box  H,  and  are  closed  by  the  arm  K  striking 
the  cam-stop  L.  Rising ,  the  nippers  carry  with  them  the  long  bristles 
that  have  been  nipped  by  the  flags,  until,  when  near  the  upper  limit  of 
their  motion,  they  discharge  their  load  by  the  action  of  the  arm  K  and 
the  cam -stop  e'.  At  the  moment  of  their  release  from  the  nippers,  the 
bristles  are  caught  by  the  arms  n  n  of  the  bent  lever  U  and  pressed 
against  the  slide-bar  F  over  the  mouth  of  the  receiving-box  I,  where 
they  are  held  until  the  slide  F  has  been  withdrawn  by  means  of  the 
lever  E  and  the  cam-slot  in  the  large  cylinder;  when  the  arms  again  move 
forward,  putting  the  bristles  into  the  box  beyond  the  range  of  the  slide- 
bar  F,  which  is  forced  back  across  the  mouth  of  the  box  in  rear  of  the 
bristles,  holding  them  in  place,  while  the  arms  sweep  back  over  the  nip¬ 
pers,  ready  to  repeat  the  operation.  In  order  that  the  bristles  in  the 
receiving-box  shall  always  be  kept  firmly  in  place,  as  the  slide  F  is  forced 
back  by  every  successive  addition  of  bristles,  the  slide  has  a  spring 
clamp  mounted  on  its  guide-rod  3  (Fig.  2),  on  the  inside  of  the  box  and 
bearing  agaiust  its  end,  by  the  friction  of  wffiich  on  the  rod,  as  the  latter 
is  forced  through  it  by  the  compression  of  the  bristles,  the  rod  is  pre¬ 
vented  from  passing  through  farther  than  is  actually  required  for  each 
additional  lot  of  bristles. 

BUNDLING. 

The  “draggings”  Anally  pass  to  the  bundler,  who  takes  a  sufficient 
quantity  (about  a  pound  of  “bottoms,”  or  more  of  larger  sizes)  to  fill  a 
tin  band  of  a  certain  diameter,  and  squeezes  them  into  a  cylindrical 
bundle  by  means  of  a  hand  press,  so  that  the  band  can  be  passed  over 


16 


them.  The  “flags”  are  usually  wrapped  in  paper,  over  which  the  ring 
is  slipped,  and  finally  pushed  down  to  the  root  end  of  the  bundle  after 
removal  from  the  press.  Sometimes  a  ligature  of  stout  twine  is  substi¬ 
tuted  for  the  tin  band.  The  sizes  and  qualities  are  marked  on  the 
wrappers,  and  the  bundles  are  packed  in  barrels  for  the  market.  This 
bundling  press  is  of  the  simplest  construction,  being  merely  a  block  of 
wood  whose  thickness  is  considerably  less  than  the  length  of  the  short¬ 
est  bristles,  lying  flat  on  the  bench,  and  having  a  hole  through  it,  in 
shape  like  a  right  cylinder  with  a  vertical  axis.  One-half  of  the  con¬ 
cave  surface  of  the  cylindrical  opening  is  formed  on  a  second  block, 
fitted  into  the  first,  and  having  a  sliding  motion  like  the  dies  in  a  die¬ 
stock,  and  operated  by  a  screw  in  the  same  manner,  or  by  a  lever,  which 
may  be  substituted  for  the  screw.  In  some  of  the  larger  bristle  facto¬ 
ries  more  complicated  devices  are  employed  to  facilitate  the  operation 
of  bundling.  One  of  the  simplest  of  these  is  represented  in  Plate  V. 
It  was  patented  by  L.  F.  Lannoy.  A  bundle  of  bristles  being  inserted 
butt  downward  in  the  oblong  space  formed  by  the  two  guides  E  E' 
and  the  indented  jaws  B  C,  a  depression  of  the  treadle  F  operates  to 
close  the  jaws  and  to  compress  the  bundle  into  a  cylindrical  form. 
The  movable  jaw  C  being  held  at  one  end  by  the  pivot  I),  and  at  the 
other  by  the  concentric  guides  E  E',  is  not  liable  to  jam  or  bind  in  its 
operation,  nor  to  be  otherwise  deranged.  The  location  of  the  indenta¬ 
tions  being  at  the  end  of  the  jaws  remote  from  the  pivot,  gives  the 
requisite  capacity,  and  permits  the  operator  to  be  close  to  his  work. 
The  fixture  of  one  jaw  to  the  bench,  and  the  treadle  and  spring  attach¬ 
ment  to  the  other  jaw,  enables  the  device  to  be  worked  by  the  foot  of 
the  operator,  leaving  his  hands  at  liberty.  The  table  A  serves  as  a 
support  to  the  machine  as  well  as  a  gauge  for  the  bristles. 

RIFLINGS. 

The  term  “riflings”  is  applied  to  the  bristles  which  fall  to  the  floor 
during  the  various  operations  and  manipulations  of  dressing,  as  well  as 
to  the  sweepings  from  the  floors  of  the  brush  factory.  White  stock  is 
always  handled  by  itself,  so  that  white  riflings  rarely  become  mixed 
with  those  of  other  colors.  All  other  riflings  are  mixed  indiscriminately. 
They  are  swept  up  from  the  floor,  and  either  fed  by  handfuls  to  the  comb¬ 
ing  machine  again  and  again,  until  the  whole  mass,  with  the  exception 
of  the  fine  hair  or  “wool,”  has  been  arranged  in  bundles,  with  hairs  all 
parallel,  but  of  different  lengths,  and  with  “roots”  and  “flags”  all  min¬ 
gled  together,  or  they  are  taken  to  the  picker- room,  and  when  a  quantity 
has  accumulated  are  put  through  the  picker  to  clean  and  mix  them  as  a 
preliminary  to  the  combing.  Some  riflings  are  sold  for  cheap  brushes 
(mostly  prison-work)  in  the  condition  they  are  left  by  the  combing 
machine,  except  that  they  are  bundled  together.  White  riflings,  ami 
most  others  long  enough  for  paint  brushes,  are  “turned”  and  “dragged” 
to  sizes  before  being  sold. 

PICKER. 

The  picker  is  a  machine  consisting  of  a  hollow  cylinder  with  spikes 
projecting  radially  from  the  surface,  and  with  a  horizontal  shaft  through 
the  axis  about  which  it  revolves,  and  an  enveloping  cylinder  a  little 
larger  than  is  necessary  to  permit  the  rotation  of  the  spiked  cylinder. 
The  ends  and  upper  surface  of  the  exterior  cylinder  are  solid,  the  lower 
side  being  composed  of  iron  rods  2  or  3  inches  apart  and  parallel  to 
the  axis.  When  the  machine  is  in  motion  the  riflings  are  fed  to  it  by 


17 


a  slightly  inclined  chute  and  through  an  opening  in  the  side  about  the 
height  of  the  axis.  The  dirt  falls  between  the  iron  rods,  and  the  bristles 
are  blown  out  at  the  rear,  thoroughly  mixed  by  the  rapid  motion  of  the 
spiked  cylinder. 

In  factories  not  provided  with  combing  machinery,  riflings,  on  coming 
from  the  picker,  are  taken  by  the  combers,  piled  on  benches,  sprinkled 
with  water,  and  then  kneaded  by  hand  into  rolls  of  two  or  three  pounds. 
The  operator,  holding  a  roll  near  the  end,  combs  a  few  inches  of  that  end 
on  a  comb  attached  to  his  bench.  The  short  hair  and  “doubles,”  being 
combed  out,  fall  to  the  floor  as  “wool,”  and  leave  the  bristles  at  the  end 
of  the  roll  projecting  in  parallel  points.  The  operator,  seizing  these 
points  between  his  thumb  and  forefinger,  drags  them  out  and  piles 
them  on  his  bench.  This  operation  is  repeated  until  the  whole  roll  has 
been  combed  and  dragged.  This  stock  is  tied  up  in  bundles  of  about  a 
pound  and  laid  aside  to  dry ;  the  object  of  the  tying  is  to  keep  them 
straight  while  drying.  This  process  (sometimes  termed  “back-drag¬ 
ging”)  leaves  riflings  in  the  same  condition  when  dry  as  the  combing 
machine — of  all  lengths  and  with  flags  and  roots  all  mingled  together. 

TURNING. 

In  order  to  “  turn”  the  combed  “  riflings”  so  that  all  th$  “  flags”  shall 
be  collected  at  one  end  of  the  bundles  and  all  the  roots  at  the  other, 
advantage  is  taken  of  the  peculiar  structure  of  the  bristle  to  effect  the 
object  by  means  of  machinery. 

As  explained  in  the  foregoing,  all  bristles  are  covered  with  minute 
scales  or  barbs,  pointing  toward  the  “flag”  ends;  so  that  if  a  number 
be  laid  side  by  side  on  a  piece  of  tine  sand  paper,  with  the  roots  half 
one  way  and  half  the  other,  and  a  piece  of  hard  India  rubber  be  pressed 
upou  them  and  given  a  slight  motion  back  and  forth  in  the  direction  of 
their  length  they  will  be  gradually  pushed  out  roots  foremost  in  oppo¬ 
site  directions  until  they  are  separated  into  two  rows,  with  the  “flags” 
of  one  turned  toward  the  “flags”  of  the  other.  The  machine  by  which 
this  “turning”  is  effected  consists  of  a  table  with  a  strip  of  tine  sand¬ 
paper  about  5  inches  wide,  pasted  along  the  middle  for  about  4  feet 
from  right  to  left  in  front  of  the  operator.  On  the  sand-paper  the  bris¬ 
tles  are  spread,  lying  transversely,  and  along  the  middle  of  the  row  of 
bristles  is  laid  a  strip  of  India  rubber,  let  into  a  groove  in  the  lower 
edge  of  a  board  4  or  5  inches  wide.  Motion  is  given  to  the  board  by 
means  of  a  shaft  at  the  rear  of  the  table  (a  little  shorter  than  the  board), 
and  connected  with  the  latter  by  a  connecting-rod  and  eccentric  at  each 
end.  The  eccentrics  are  set  at  the  same  angle  and  have  but  little — prob¬ 
ably  about  two-tenths  of  an  inch — eccentricity.  The  connecting-rods  are 
secured  to  the  board  so  as  to  hold  it  firmly  in  a  vertical  position  when 
its  rubber  edge  is  pressed  on  the  bristles.  The  machine  is  usually 
started  and  stopped  by  means  of  a  “  shipper”  operated  by  the  foot. 

Plate  VI  represents  a  “turning”  or  “separating”  machine  such  as 
has  been  described,  with  the  addition  of  two  pairs  of  cylinders,  M  M 
and  L  L,  between  which  the  bristles  pass  as  they  are  pushed  out  butt 
end  foremost  by  the  rubber  J.  The  rollers  are  not  an  essential  part  of 
the  machine  ;  the  rubber  without  them  does  very  good  work.  The  ma¬ 
chine  in  Plate  VI  was  patented  by  A.  Randel. 

Plate  VII  represents  a  more  complex  machine  for  the  same  purpose 
patented  by  1ST.  H.  Spaff'ord.  The  operation  of  this  is  essentially  the 
same  as  the  preceding,  both  being  designed  to  separate  bristles  having 
their  “flags”  in  one  direction  from  those  having  their  “flags”  in  the 
5249— Ap  21 - 2 


18 


opposite  direction  by  rubbing  them  in  the  direction  of  tbeir  length 
between  two  suitable  rubbing  surfaces.  The  improvement  seems  to  be 
the  arrangement  by  which  the  bristles  are  fed  continuously  to  the 
machine  at  one  end,  while  they  are  received  at  the  other  ready  for  use. 
Beferring  to  Plate  VII,  Figs.  1  and  4,  the  crank  on  the  shaft  E  in¬ 
dicates  the  point  where  the  power  is  applied.  Rotary  motion  is  im¬ 
parted  to  the  shafts  P  and  T  by  means  of  worm  gearing  shown  in  Fig. 
4.  The  large  pulley  B,  which  carries  the  traveling  platform  W,  is 
driven  by  the  belt  from  pulley  Q.  The  flat  leather  belts  y  y  y  rest 
upon  the  traveling  platform  and  pass  around  the  cylinders  a  a,  which 
are  revolved  by  crossed  belts  from  pulleys  C  C  to  pulleys  B  B.  The 
rubbing  device,  which  corresponds  to  the  board  with  its  India  rubber 
edge  in  the  machine  just  described,  consists  of  a  round  band  stretched 
over  the  grooved  pulleys  S  S,  the  lower  branch  of  which  passes  through 
a  groove  in  the  under  side  of  the  frame  V  and  is  pressed  down  in  close 
contact  with  the  central  leather  belt  y,  which  is  in  turn  supported  on 
the  traveling  platform,  as  above  described.  The  central  portions  of  the 
shafts  P  and  T  are  squared,  so  as  to  insure  rotation  of  the  grooved  pul¬ 
leys  S  S,  and  at  the  same  time  to  permit  free  motion  to  the  latter  in  the 
direction  of  their  axes.  The  frame  V  is  attached  to  the  pulleys  S  S  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  carry  them  with  it  in  its  sliding  motion  without 
interfering  wfltli  their  rotation.  Jointed  to  the  side  of  the  frame  V  are 
two  connecting-rods,  J  J,  fitted  to  adjustable  eccentrics  h  h  on  the  small 
shaft  (I.  A  belt  around  pulleys  F  and  L  drives  this  shaft,  which,  by 
means  of  the  eccentrics  and  connecting-rods,  gives  a  reciprocating  mo¬ 
tion  to  the  sliding  frame  V  and  produces  a  rubbing  of  the  round  belt 
upon  the  flat  belt  under  it.  All  the  motions  described  are  communi¬ 
cated  to  the  different  parts  of  the  machine  by  the  revolution  of  the 
shaft  E.  Bristles  to  be  “turned”  or  “separated”  are  spread  evenly 
across  the  middle  of  the  three  belts  y  yy  while  the  machine  is  in  motion, 
and  are  carried  under  the  round  belt  on  the  pulleys  S  S.  The  round 
belt,  with  its  oscillating  motion,  operates  on  the  “beard”  of  the  bristles 
exactly  the  same  as  the  rubbing  board  of  the  machine  previously  de¬ 
scribed.  The  important  difference  between  the  two  machines  consists 
in  the  adaptation  of  the  latter  to  continuous  operation,  thereby  saving 
the  time  that  would  otherwise  be  lost  in  stopping  to  introduce  or  re¬ 
move  the  bristles  in  separate  lots. 

Plates  VIII  and  IX  represent  an  ingenious  device  for  effecting  the 
same  object  by  means  of  another  peculiarity  of  the  bristle,  viz,  the 
fact  that  the  center  of  gravity  is  not  coincident  with  the  center  of  fig¬ 
ure,  but  is  nearer  the  root  end,  so  that  a  bristle,  when  dropped  in  a  still 
atmosphere,  will  fall  butt  end  downwards.  The  splayed  flag,  operating 
like  the  feathers  on  an  arrow,  also  assists  to  produce  the  same  result. 

The  apparatus  represented  in  the  plates  referred  to  was  devised  and 
patented  by  Alfred  S.  Miles,  of  Brooklyn.  X.  Y.,  in  1881,  and  it  is  not 
known  whether  it  is  yet  in  practical  operation.  Fig.  1,  Plate  VIII,  is  a 
perspective  view,  showing  the  arrangement  of  the  principal  parts,  viz,  the 
funnel  S  (dowm  which  the  bristles  are  dropped),  the  chute  T,  and  the  re¬ 
ceiving-tray  A.  The  chute  T  does  not  en  irely  intercept  the  fall  of  the 
bristles,  being  only  sufficiently  inclined  to  direct  them  into  the  revolving 
tray  at  its  mouth.  The  converging  ribs  or  ridges  on  the  bottom  of  the 
chute  are  designed  to  prevent  the  bristles  from  turning  as  they  descend, 
and  to  insure  their  discharge  butt  end  foremost  into  the  receiving  tray. 
A  motion  of  rotation  about  its  vertical  axis  is  given  the  tray,  in  order  that 
the  bristles  shall  be  evenly  distributed  and  lie  parallel  to  each  other,  with 
their  flags  toward  the  chute.  Figs.  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  Plate  IX,  are  different 


19 


views  of  the  parts  shown  in  Fig.  1,  with  some  details  added  which  will 
be  readily  understood. 

After  turning  by  either  of  the  methods  described,  the  bristles  will  be 
found  to  lie  with  their  flags  nearly  all  in  the  same  direction.  A  few, 
however,  always  escape  the  “turning,”  and  recourse  is  had  to  a  very 
simple  but  ingenious  process  for  drawing  out  those  whose  “roots”  still 
remain  among  the  “flags.”  The  workman,  holding  them  in  bundles 
firmly  by  the  root  ends,  draws  the  “flags”  over  a  very  flue  sieve  until 
all  the  unturned  bristles  have  been  caught  by  their  root  bulbs  in  the 
meshes  and  pulled  out.  These  are  finally  withdrawn  from  the  sieve  by 
hand,  reversed,  and  returned  to  the  bundle.  Turned  riflings  are  some¬ 
times  “dragged”  to  sizes  by  the  process  already  described,  and  some¬ 
times  sold  as  “taper”  stock,  to  mix  with  “dragging”  for  the  lower 
grades  of  painters’  tools,  &c.  Some  of  the  more  extensive  brush  man¬ 
ufacturers  buy  their  stock  in  the  “raw”  state  and  dress  it  themselves, 
doing  much  of  the  work,  however,  especially  the  combing,  by  hand, 
even  when  power  is  available  and  used  for  other  purposes.  They  get 
their  supplies  trom  small  colle<tors,  who  do  little  more  than  partially 
assort  them  iuto  colors.  The  operations  of  dressing  are  essentially  the 
same  whether  by  hand  or  by  machinery. 


MIXING. 

Gray  stock  is  a  mixture  of  bristles  of  various  colors.  When  such 
bristles  are  cleaned  and  prepared  for  the  market  they  must  be  thor- 
oughl\  mixed,  so  as  not  only  to  present  an  uniform  gray  color,  but  be 
free  from  what  are  called  “  holes,”  caused  by  clusters  of  short  bristles 
being  surrounded  by  longer  ones.  When  the  mixing  is  done  by  hand 
the  bristles  are  spread  in  a  row  on  the  bench,  and  the  arrangement  of 
the  colors  and  lengths  is  determined  by  the  eye.  When  the  distribution 
seems  fairly  even,  the}'  are  gathered  iuto  a  bundle  and  alternately 
combed  and  “cut”  (a  process  analogous  to  the  cutting  of  cards)  until 
all  the  parts  of  the  bundle  have  been  transposed  and  intermingled. 
Then  they  are  spread  on  the  bench,  as  before,  and  the  hand-mixing  is  con¬ 
tinued.  These  operations  are  repeated  until  the  required  uniformity  of 
color  and  average  of  length  are  obtained.  This  operation  is  tedious 
and  requires  skillful  manipulation  to  produce  satisfactory  results.  Mix¬ 
ing  is  generally  more  thoroughly  and  economically  done  by  machinery. 
For  mixing  short  stock  before  “turning,”  the  ordinary  picker  heretofore 
described  serves  a  good  purpose,  but  for  the  better  qualities  of  dressed 
bristles  a  more  complex  and  effective  mechanism  is  used.  Plate  X  rep¬ 
resents  a  “mixer,”  patented  by  Theodore  Dost,  and  designed  to  accom¬ 
plish  the  mixing  and  remixing  above  described  by  passing  the  bristles 
under  a  succession  of  wire  toothed  cylinders,  dofling-rakes,  and  fan- 
rollers.  Fig.  1  is  a  plan  of  the  machine,  showing  the  driving-gear.  Fig. 
2  is  a  section  through  x  x,  showing  the  working  parts  without  the  driv¬ 
ing-gear.  Fig.  3  is  a  plan  of  a  cylinder  and  doffer,  on  a  larger  scale, 
showing  the  parallel  rows  of  wire  prongs,  with  the  teeth  of  the  doffer 
operating  in  the  intervals.  Fig.  4  is  an  enlarged  section  through  cylin¬ 
der,  doffer,  and  roller.  A  A  is  an  endless  brush-belt,  whose  tufts  have 
the  stiffness  of  a  common  horse-brush.  The  belt  moves  in  the  direction 
of  the  arrows  over  the  pulleys  EE.  B  B  B  are  cylinders  about  6  inches 
-in  diameter  and  3  to  5  inches  long,  armed  with  radial  wire  prongs  set  iu 
rows  corresponding  to  the  intervals  between  the  teeth  of  the  doffer. 
C  C  C  are  the  stationary  doffers  or  rakes,  whose  teeth  lie  between  the 
rows  of  wire  prongs  on  the  cylinders,  and  gather  any  bristles  which  the 


20 


prongs  bring  up  from  the  brush-belt,  letting  them  fall  on  the  fan-rollers 
D  D,  which  revolve  in  the  direction  of  the  arrows  and  return  the  bristles 
to  the  brush-belt,  which  carries  them  to  the  next  cylinder,  wrhere  the 
operation  is  repeated.  To  operate  the  machine,  the  bristles  are  spread 
across  the  brush-belt  at  the  end  a ,  and  are  carried  under  the  cylinders, 
each  of  which  in  turn  rolls  them  over  and  over,  mixing  them,  as  explained, 
both  as  to  color  and  length.  After  passing  the  last  roller  the  bristles 
are  gathered  up  for  bundling  or  such  further  treatment  as  may  be 
desired.  The  pronged  cylinders  make. from  eight  to  twelve  revolutions 
per  minute,  and  the  fan-rollers  from  300  to  500  per  minute. 

COLORS. 

The  colors  of  American  bristles  are  white  (bleached),  gray,  and  some 
black.  They  are  principally  obtained  from  the  Berkshire  breed  of  hogs, 
and  are  mostly  gray.  There  are  few  white  American  bristles  in  the 
market,  and  these  are  constantly  growing  scarcer. 

LENGTHS. 

American  bristles  are  soft  and  mostly  short;  in  fact,  shorter  and  poorer 
as  the  breeds  of  hogs  are  improved.  At  some  establishments  where 
American  bristles  are  dressed  the  French  method  of  designating  sizes 
has  been  adopted;  generally,  however,  lengths  are  specified  in  inches 
by  actual  measurement.  Mr.  William  Wilkins,  of  New  York,  who  has 
a  factory  in  Baltimore,  has  adopted  the  French  stymie ;  Messrs.  Lewisohn 
Bros.,  whose  factory  is  at  Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  specify  the  real  lengths  of 
their  stock  in  inches  as  follows,  viz,  2J  inches,  2£  inches,  2f  inches,  3 
inches,  3^  inches,  3£  inches,  3|  inches,  4  inches. 

CASINGS. 

In  dressing  bristles  it  is  the  custom  to  select  some  of  the  stiffest  and 
to  call  them  “casings,”  but  the  percentage  of  such  stiff  stock  in  the 
ordinary  American  product  is  very  small,  and,  as  said  before,  is  becom¬ 
ing  smaller  every  year.  “Casings”  are  so  called  from  their  use  as  mere 
envelopes  to  cover  inferior  centers,  both  of  finished  paint  brushes  and 
bundles  of  dressed  bristles,  foreign  and  domestic. 

Part  II. — Vegetable  Fibers. 

TAMPICO. 

Next  to  bristles  in  importance  as  a  brush  material  comes  a  vegetable 
fiber  known  to  the  brush  maker  as  “Tampico”  or  “Mexican  grass,”  and 
to  the  trade  as  “  istle.” 

Thename  “Tampico”  has  no  significance,  being  merely  the  name  of  the 
Mexican  portwhence  much  is  imported.  The  term  “grass”  is  a  misnomer, 
as  it  has  none  of  the  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  grasses.  Istle 
is  a  fiber  extracted  from  the  thick,  fieshy  leaves  of  a  wild  tropical  plant 
of  the  pine  apple  family.  It  is  imbedded  in  the  soft,  pulpy  portion, 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  scraping  and  washing. 

Although  istle  and  tampico  are  to  the  brush-maker  synonymous  terms, 
onlyr  the  coarsest  of  the  istle  is  tampico,  while  much  that  goes  under  the 
latter  name  is  doubtless  the  product  of  a  kindred  family  of  plants — the 
agaves.  Tampico  may  be  described  as  consisting  of  very  coarse — nearly 


21 


white — filaments  of  extraordinary  strength  and  flexibility,  smooth 
straight,  and  from  1  to  3  feet  long.  The  fibers  are  thick  at  the  base  o, 
the  leaf  and  taper  toward  the  tip,  and  for  half  the  length  or  more  are  as 
stiff  as  bristles.  It  readily  receives  and  holds  color,  either  vegetable  or 
mineral,  without  injury,  and  may  be  dyed  to  resemble  bristles  so  closely 
that  when  mixed  with  them  in  small  proportions  and  made  into  brushes 
it  is  not  readily  distinguishable,  except  by  experts.  It  is,  however,  less 
elastic  than  bristles,  and  if  a  brush  composed  of  it  be  trodden  upon,  or 
otherwise  violently  compressed  in  the  direction  of  the  length  of  the 
fiber,  it  will  not  return  to  its  original  position  so  readily  as  bristles. 
When  ignited  it  is  consumed  rapidly  with  a  bright  flame,  like  flax,  and 
without  the  peculiar  odor  of  burning  hair.  By  one  of  these  tests  its 
presence  among  bristles  can  generally  be  detected.  It  is  cut  into  lengths 
and  used,  either  alone  or  mixed  with  bristles,  in  the  manufacture  of 
many  kinds  of  brushes,  particularly  floor,  bench,  and  molder’s  brushes. 
Sometimes  it  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  cheap  paint-brushes,  but  such 
are  of  inferior  quality,  in  fact,  unfit  for  anything  but  the  very  coarsest 
kind  of  painting.  Scrubbing-brushes  are  usually  made  of  pure  tampico, 
but  being  used  wet  and  frequently  in  hot  water,  they  have  little  dura¬ 
bility,  and,  indeed,  little  to  recommend  them  but  their  cheapness.  For 
brushes  to  be  used  dry,  however,  such  as  floor-brushes,  dusting-brushes, 
clothes-brushes,  and  brushes  for  polishing  leather  work,  tampico  serves 
a  useful  purpose,  though  still  inferior  to  bristles.  When  imported  it  is 
tied  in  bundles  of  about  two  pounds,  with  the  thick  ends  together 
(Plate  XI).  It  is  imperfectly  cleaned  and  contains  much  tangled  fiber. 
To  prepare  it  for  the  hand  of  the  brush  maker  it  is  hackled,  combed,  dyed, 
cut  to  lengths,  and  mixed  as  to  colors,  and  with  other  stock.  In  some 
of  the  larger  brush  factories,  having  facilities  for  these  operations,  this 
material  is  obtained  in  the  raw  state  and  dressed  by  hand.  A  ma¬ 
jority  of  brush-makers,  however,  obtain  it  ready  for  use,  from  factories 
where  its  preparation  is  made  a  specialty. 

The  process  of  machine  dressing  is  explained  in  the  following  extract 
from  a  “Circular  to  brush  makers,”  issued  by  the  Tampico  Dressiug 
Company  of  Burlington,  Vt. : 

*  *  *  For  tlae  ordinary  product  the  stock,  after  being  hackled,  is  cut  to  an  uniform 

length  for  dressing  and  mixing,  say  C  or  8  inches  long*,  and  after  being  spread  in  layers, 
butts  and  flags  intermingled,  it  passes  one  end  at  a  time  before  a  swiftly  revolving  comb, 
which  being  repeated  several  times,  whips  out  the  loose  ends,  dirt,  and  wooly  fiber, 
until  a  cleaner  and  more  evenly-mixed  product  is  turned  out  than  can  be  furnished 
by  hand  labor.  After  being  bunched  up  and  secured  in  quantities  convenient  for 
handling,  the  ends  are  trimmed  and  it  is  cut  accurately  to  the  lengths  required,  and 
is  ready  to  go  into  the  brush  without  waste,  shrinkage,  or  trouble.  *  *  * 

This  machine  product  is  claimed  to  be  cheaper  than  hand-dressed 
stock.  The  inevitable  loss  from  waste  aud  shrinkage  by  the  latter  pro¬ 
cess  is  said  to  frequently  amount  to  25  per  cent.  Besides  being  dyed, 
tampico  is  made  to  still  further  resemble  bristles  by  being  put  up  in 
taper  bundles,  with  the  taper  ends  softened  in  imitation  of  the  flags. 
Figs.  1,  2,  3,  4,  Plate  XII,  are  representations  of  specimens  of  this 
tapering  stock  furnished  by  the  Burlington  Tampico  Dressing  Company. 
These  are  mixtures  of  tampico  and  horse  hair,  tampico  and  bristles,  and 
tampico, horse  hair, and  bristles.  The  mixtures  vary  in  the  proportions 
of  hair  and  fiber,  in  color,  degree  of  stiffness,  and  style  of  dressing. 
The  method  of  softening  the  flags  or  taper  euds  is  not  known.  Figs.  5, 
6,  7,  8,  9,  represent  specimens  cut  into  lengths  ready  for  drawing;  5,  fi,  7, 
8,  .solid  tampico;  and  9,  a  mixture  of  tampico  and  piassava.  Fig.  5  repre¬ 
sents  gray  stock  (a  mixture  of  black  and  white  fibers).  Fig.  6,  black; 


22 


Fig.  7,  white;  and  Fig.  8,  reddish  gray.  The  combing  machine  referred 
to,  and  upon  which  these  samples  were  dressed,  operates  in  much  the 
same  way  as  that  shown  in  Plate  II.  It  is  described  in  letters  patent 
No.  184,940,  issued  to  E.  B.  Whiting,  November  28,  1876.  It  has  lately 
been  proposed  to  make  use  of  this  liber  in  the  fabrication  of  nose  bags, 
lariats,  and  saddle-girths  for  cavalry  and  artillery.  The  experiment 
has  not  been  fully  tried,  and  it  is  not  known  which  of  the  many  leaf 
libers  of  the  tropics  is  the  best  adapted  for  such  uses.  In  view,  there¬ 
fore,  of  the  little  that  is  known  of  them,  of  their  growing  importance  in 
the  arts,  and  of  their  possible  usefulness  for  so  many  military  purposes, 
it  is  thought  a  more  comprehensive  presentation  of  the  subject  than  is 
strictly  germane  to  brush-making  would  not  be  entirely  out  of  place 
and  without  value  here. 

TEXTILE  FIBERS. 

Following  are  extracts,  “passim,”  from  a  work  by  the  Hon.E.G.  Squier, 
formerly  United  States  minister  to  Central  America,  who  was  greatly 
interested  in  the  economic  extraction  ot  these  libers,  their  cultivation, 
and  application  in  the  various  arts  for  which  their  qualities  render  them 
so  eminently  suitable: 

All  vegetable  fibers  used  for  textile  purposes  resolve  themselves  into  three  great 
classes — foliaceous  fibers,  cortical  fibers,  and  capsular  fibers. 

Foliaceous  fibers. — These  are  obtained  from  what  botanists  call  endogenous  or  mouo- 
cotyledonous  plants,  or  inside  growers,  which  aie  best  known  to  us  in  the  herbaceous 
forms,  such  as  the  grasses,  including  the  cereals,  sugar-cane,  and  the  common  caue, 
as  also  the  lily,  the  cat-brier,  and  all  plants  in  which  the  leaves  have  parallel  veins. 
Under  and  near  the  tropics  the  endogens  are  represented  by  the  yuccas,  the  agaves, 
the  plantains,  and  the  great  family  of  palms.  These  plants  do  not  form  a  regular 
bark,  show  no  signs  of  annual  growth,  and  do  not  increase  by  continual  additions  to 
the  outside  of  their  stems,  as  in  trees  common  to  our  climate.  Their  fibers  are  im¬ 
bedded  in  the  cellular  tissue  and  pulpy  matter  of  their  stems  and  leaves,  and  iu  most, 
if  not  all,  cases  can  be  extracted  by  a  purely  mechanical  process.  The  fibers  known 
as  Manila  hemp,  Sisal  hemp,  silk  grass,  &c.,  are  obtained  from  plants  of  this  class. 
It  is  only  iu  tropical  and  subtropical  regions  that  endogenous  plants  attain  any  g  eat 
development,  take  arborescent  forms,  or  yield  fibers  suitable  for  textile  purposes.  To 
an  inhabitant  of  the  northern  temperate  zone  an  endogenous  plant  of  which  the 
green  leaves  yield  valuable  fibers  is  a  curiosity  seen  only  in  conservatories  and 
botanical  gardens. 

Cortical  fibers. — These  are  obtained  from  what  are  botanically  known  as  exogenous 
or  dicotyledonous  plants,  or  outside  growers,  and  are  contained  in  their  bark  or  bast. 
They  are  often  of  great  length,  but  little  hardened,  and  with  the  exception  of  "cotton 
are  the  most  valuable  produced  in  the  temperate  climates.  Some  of  ihe  plants  of  this 
class  attain  great  size.  A  familiar  example  is  the  linden  (bass  or  bast  wood)  of  Europe 
and  our  own  country,  and  the  wild  fig  or  banyan  tree  of  the  tropics.  A  great  num¬ 
ber,  however,  are  herbaceous,  such  as  most  of  the  mallows  (in  w  hich  is  embraced  the 
cotton  plant),  a  large  portion  of  the  Vrlica  or  nettle  (embracing  the  familiar  hemp), 
the  Lniacea  or  flax  family,  and  some  varieties  of  the  Leyuminosai  or  pea  and  beau 
tribe,  such  as  the  Crotaluria  juiicea,  which  supplies  the  Sunn  or  Bengal  hemp.  The 
stems  of  these  plants  consist  of  a  woody  core,  surrounded  by  a  sheath  of  fibrous  texture, 
and  the  two  are  connected  by  a  peculiar  vegetable  glue,  which  unites  them  in  a  solid 
stem.  In  the  preparation  of  flax,  hemp,  china-grass,  &c.,  the  object  is  to  remove  this 
matter,  and  thus  separate  the  useless  stem  from  the  valuable  external  sheath  of 
fibers.  *  *  * 

Capsular  fibers. — These,  as  the  name  indicates,  are  obtained  from  pods  or  capsules. 
Cotton,  a  familiar  type  of  this  class,  is  found  in  the  capsules  of  the  Gossypium  en¬ 
veloping  the  seeds,  and  in  nearly  all  cases  closely  adhering  to  them.  *  *  * 

Fiber-producing  Plants. 

ENDOGENOUS  SPECIES. 

Six  orders  of  the  endogens  yield  fibers  which  are  commercially  valuable,  viz,  the 
Agave  or  Amaryllis  family,  the  Bromelia  or  pine-apple  family,  the  Musa  or  plantain 
family,  the  Yucca  or  lily  family,  the  Palm  family,  and  the  Pandanceae  or  screw-pine 
lamily. 


23 


AGAVE  OR  AMARYLLIS  FAMILY. 

Many  plants  belonging  to  this  family  produce  excellent  fibers  in  great  abundance, 
and  are  indigenous  in  all  parts  of  tropical  and  inter-tropical  America  over  a  broad 
belt  of  at  least  33°  on  each  side  of  the  equator,  from  Virginia  on  the  north  to  Paraguay 
on  the  south.  They  are  easily  cultivated,  hardy,  and  flourish  equally  in  the  richest 
and  the  most  sterile  soils.  Indeed,  in  thousands  of  places  where  rocky,  indurated, 
and  sandy  and  arid  soils  prohibit  every  other  kind  of  vegetation,  the  agaves  find 
root  and  a  vigorous  growth.  Several  varieties  are  indigenous  iu  the  United  States, 
such  as  the  Agave  virginica,  which  is  found  in  the  worst  soils  from  the  Potomac  to  the 
Mississippi,  and  the  A.  vivipara,  which  is  found  iu  Florida,  and  perhaps  in  some  of  the 
other  States  fronting  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  is,  however,  under  the  tropics  proper 
throughout  Mexico,  Central  America,  the  northern  states  of  South  America,  and  in 
the  West  Indies  that  the  agaves  are  most  abundant.  *  *  * 

The  fibers  extracted  from  the  agaves  differ  widely  in  firmness  and  consequent  value, 
although  all  are  available  for  cloth,  cordage,  and  paper.  The  fiber,  it  is  said,  also 
varies  c  nsiderably  wi  h  the  age  of  the  plant,  being  most  pliable  and  easily  worked 
if  taken  when  the  plant  is  young.  *  *  * 

Superficial  writers  and  travelers  have  caused  great  confusion  and  uncertainty  in 
respect  of  the  agaves,  by  confounding  the  different  species,  and  their  contradictions 
have  much  embarrassed  practical  men  in  their  calculations  and  effi  rts  for  utilizing 
them.  This  uncertainty  and  confusion  have  been  greatly  increased  by  the  different 
and  difficult  names  (generally  Indian)  by  which  the  agaves  art  distinguished  in  the 
various  parts  of  the  continent.  In  Mexico  the  different,  varieties  are  called  maguey, 
maguey  de  pulque,  metl,  cabulla,  hennequin,  sosquil,  &c. ;  in  Yucatan  and  Central 
America,  hennequin,  cabulla,  pita,  yashqui,  sacqui,  &c. ;  in  Cuba,  may  a.  hennequin, 
pita,  pinon,  &c. ;  in  Venezuela  and  New  Granada,  cocuy,  cocuiza,  &c. ;  and  in  Brazil, 
grawatha,  &c.  Great  confusion  also  exists  in  the  names  of  the  fibers  extracted  from 
the  agaves  and  those  taken  from  the  bromelias,  or  plants  of  the  pine-apple  family, 
which  are  often  confounded,  even  in  the  countries  where  they  are  produced.  The 
following  descriptious,  however,  will  serve  to  correct,  in  part  at  least,  some  of  the 
mistakes  in  these  respects :  *  *  * 


AGAVE  SISILANA. 

Agave  sisilana  is  so  called  from  the  city  of  Sisal,  in  Yucatan,  whence  the  fiber,  ex¬ 
tracted  slowly  by  hand,  has  found  its  way  to  market  under  the  name  of  Sisal  hemp 
or  grass  hemp.  This  plant,  called  sosquil  in  Mexico,  and  cabulla  in  Central  America, 
is  indigenous  in  every  part  of  tropical  America,  and  may  be  cultivated  with  the 
greatest  ease  to  any  desirable  extent  as  well  on  the  very  stony  surfaces  of  the  inte¬ 
rior  as  on  the  very  sandy  soils  of  the  coast.  There  are  two  varieties,  distinguished 
in  Yucatan  as  the  yashqui  hennequin,  which  produces  the  best  quality  of  Sisal  hemp, 
and  the  sacqui  hennequin,  which  gives  the  greatest  quantity.  In  Central  America 
the  fiber  of  both  these  varieties  is  called  cabulla,  and  is  used  for  cordage,  while  the 
fiber  from  the  Bromelia  sylvestris,  distinguished  as  pita,  is  fine,  and  used  for  thread 
and  cloth. 

Plate  XIII  represents  the  yashqui  variety  of  the  Agave  sisilana ,  with 
lower  leaves  cut.  away  for  use.  In  Plate  XIV,  Fig.  1  represents  a 
freshly  cut  leaf  from  this  plant.  Fig.  2  represents  the  same  leaf  with 
its  fibers  exposed  from  the  point  a  a  by  means  of  the  triangular  wooden 
scraper  (Fig.  3)  which  is  used  by  Indians  in  removing  the  pulpy  part 
of  the  leaf. 

Fig.  4  is  a  notched  wooden  instrument,  used  in  splitting  the  leaf  into 
strips,  five  or  six  in  number,  each  of  which  is  afterwards  worked  by  the 
triangular  scraper,  which  is  used  after  the  manner  of  a  currier’s  knife. 
Without  quoting  the  full  text,  the  following  is  the  substance  of  Mr. 
Squier’s  quotation  from  the  Illustrated  Report  of  the  Great  Exhibi¬ 
tion  in  New  York  in  1853  concerning  the  cultivation  of  Agave  sisilana  ; 
The  young  plants  are  set  about  12  feet  apart,  preferably  in  stony 
or  sandy  soil,  and  for  two  years  require  some  care  and  labor  to  destroy 
the  weeds;  shoots  3  feet  high,  when  transplanted,  yie.d  in  two  years. 
Cutting  commences  with  lower  leaves  in  third  year,  and  is  repeated 
every  four  months.  A  strong  plant  will  yiel  1  from  25  to  100  leaves  a 
year  for  five  to  ten  years.  One  hundred  average  leaves  are  estimated 


24 


to  yield  10  pounds  of  fiber.  The  most  productive  leaves  are  from  the 
fourth  cutting.  Each  plant  throws  out  five  to  ten  shoots  every  two 
years  from  its  roots,  which,  with  a  single  exception,  are  transplanted; 
the  single  exception  being  made  to  take  the  place  of  the  parent  stem, 
which  is  cut  down  when  ;t  has  become  of  less  value  than  the  shoot.  If 
permitted  to  grow,  the  parent  eventually  shoots  up  an  immense  flower 
stalk  30  or  40  feet  high.  *  *  *  The  methods  of  extracting  the  fiber, 

practiced  by  the  natives  of  Yucatan  are  of  the  most  primitive  charac¬ 
ter.  The  leaves  are  laid  on  a  board  held  against  the  breast,  and  t  e 
skin  and  pulpy  matter  that  inclose  the  fiber  scraped  away  with  trian¬ 
gular  wooden  scrapers  (Fig.  3,  Plate  XIV),  about  12  inches  long  and  3 
inches  thick.  Implements  sometimes  vary  considerably  in  form  and 
method  of  using,  but  are  always  of  the  rudest  construction  and  designed 
to  operate  on  the  same  general  plan,  that  of  scraping  the  fibers  as  free 
as  possible  from  the  investing  matter,  ready  for  washing  and  drying  in 
the  sun. 

AGAVE  MEXICANA. 

Agave  mexicana ,  or  maguey,  sometimes  called  pulque  agave,  is  the 
plant  which  yields  the  sweet  liquor  called  pulque,  which,  when  fer¬ 
mented,  becomes  intoxicating,  and  is  drunk  by  the  Mexicans  instead 
of  wine,  beer,  and  cider.  The  fiber  of  this  variety  of  agave  is  said  to 
be  coarser  than  Sisal  hemp,  but  still  valuable  for  many  purposes, 
especially  paper  and  brushes.  It  is  for  the  juice,  however,  that  it  is 
principally  cultivated  in  Mexico. 

The  plants  are  set  in  rows  about  5  feet  apart.  When  the  hampe,  or  central  stem, 
which  often  attains  the  height  of  40  or  50  feet,  is  on  the  point  of  efflorescence,  it  is  cut 
out  and  a  hollow  scooped  for  receiving  the  sap.  This  keeps  running  for  two  or  three 
months,  the  reservoir  being  emptied  three  or  four  times  a  day. 

The  yield  from  a  vigorous  plant  is  about  400  cubic  English  inches  per  day,  or  for 
the  period  of  yield  from  40,000  to  70,000  cubic  inches,  or  from  200  to  300  gallons! 
This  enormous  product  is  all  the  more  remarkable  from  the  fact  that  the  maguey 
plantations  are  generally  in  arid  ground,  and  frequently  on  ledges  of  rock  scarcely 
covered  with  vegetable  earth.  The  plant  has  firm,  vigorous  leaves,  and  is  neither 
affected  by  drought,  wet,  hail,  nor  by  the  excessive  cold  which  prevails  in  the  higher 
cordilleras  of  Mexico.  It  perishes  after  efflorescence,  but  an  infinity  of  shoots  then 
spring  from  the  decaying  roots. 

Plate  XV  represents  this  plant  with  the  flower  stalk  cut  down  and 
the  stump  scooped  out  for  a  sap  reservoir. 

AGAVE  AMERICANA. 

This  plant,  which  has  been  naturalized  in  the  south  of  Europe  and  Algeria,  is  often 
confounded  with  the  maguey,  or  Agave  sisilava.  Its  flowering  stem,  when  the  plant 
is  vigorous,  rises  to  the  height  of  40  feet  or  upwards,  and  throws  out  branches  on 
every  side,  like  those  of  a  candelasbrum,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  pyramid,  each  branch 
supporting  a  cluster  of  greenish-red  flowers.  These  give  place  to  bulbous  seeds, 
which,  when  planted,  spring  up  rapidly  and  luxuriantly.  The  original  plant,  how¬ 
ever,  dies.  The  time  of  flowering  varies  with  localities  and  climate.  An  erroneous 
notion  is  that  it  flowers  only  once  in  a  hundred  years.  Hence  the  popular  name  of 
Century  Plant. 

Plate  XVI  represents  the  plant  in  full  flower.  The  fibers  from  its 
leaves  closely  resemble  those  from  the  maguey. 

AGAVE  VIVIPARA  AND  AGAVE  VIRGINICA. 

Both  these  varieties  are  indigenous  in  the  United  States  from  Virginia 
to  Florida.  They  resemble  each  other  closely,  and  can  only  with  diffi¬ 
culty  be  distinguished.  The  former  sends  out  no  shoots  from  the  roots 


25 


after  flowering,  like  the  maguey,  but  is  only  propagated  by  its  seeds. 
Little  is  said  of  these  two  varieties  of  the  agave  as  to  the  character  ot 
their  fibers,  but  from  that  little  and  their  similarity  to  other  fiber-pro¬ 
ducing  plants  of  the  same  family,  it  is  reasonable  to  assume  that  they 
are  also  useful  and  valuable. 

Plate  XVII  represents  the  Agave  virginica.  Mr.  Squier  speaks  of 
specimens  of  fiber  from  the  Agave  vivipara  of  “admirable  quality,” 
having  been  shown  at  the  great  Exhibition  of  1851. 

Mr.  P.  L.  Simmonds,  F.  E.  C.  I.,  in  an  article  on  “Fibers  and  Cord¬ 
age,”  says : 

All  the  species  of  agave,  and  particularly  A.  vivipara ,  familiarly  termed  silk  grass, 
fur  ish  a  white  aud  somewhat  harsh  and  brittle  fiber,  possessing,  however,  useful 
properties. 

Also,  concerning  agave  fiber  in  general : 

Under  the  name  of  Mexican  grass  we  import  into  the  United  Kingdom  about  19,000 
hundred  weight  of  agave  fiber,  cut  short  and  cleanly  prepared,  which  is  used  as  a 
substitute  for  bristles  in  cheap  nail  and  other  brushes.  It  is  locally  called  itzle,  and 
is  very  extensively  produced  in  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  and  the  higher  lands  of 
Mexico.  One  man  can  prepare  4  or  5  pounds  of  fiber  per  day. 

As  evidence  of  the  confusion  that  exists  among  others  than  “super¬ 
ficial  writers”  as  to  the  names  of  the  fibers  of  the  agaves  and  bromelias, 
it  is  noticed  that  “in  the  year  1857  Chief  Justice  Temple,  of  Balize,  or 
British  Honduras,  read  a  paper  before  the  Koyal  Society  of  Arts  of 
London  on  the  resources  of  that  country,”  in  which  he  referred  to  the 
bromelia  fiber  as  being  called  “istle”  by  the  Mexicans  and  “bilk  grass” 
by  the  creoles  of  British  Honduras,  giving  a  full  description  of  the  plant 
and  its  fibers,  and  that,  in  the  subsequent  discussion  of  the  subject- 
matter  of  Justice  Temple’s  paper  by  the  leading  members  of  the  society, 
Mr.  P.  L.  Simmonds  referred  especially  to  what  had  been  said  of  the 
bromelian  fiber,  and  without  taking  exception  to  the  local  names  of 
“  istle”  in  Mexico  and  “silk  grass”  in  Balize  as  misnomers;  yet,  in  1877, 
as  has  been  seen,  the  same  authority  refers  to  the  fibers  of  the  agaves 
in  general  as  being  locally  called  “itzle”  in  the  “highlands  of  Mexico 
and  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,”  and  to  that  from  the  Agave  vivipara 
especially  as  being  called  “silk  grass.” 

The  natives  of  Mexico  and  Central  America  no  doubt  apply  the  term 
“istle”  indiscriminately  to  the  fibers  of  both  bromelias  and  agaves. 
This  is  not  surprising  in  view  of  their  striking  similarity,  the  oblitera¬ 
tion  of  distinguishing  characteristics  due  to  cultivation,  and  the  wide 
variation  in  the  quality  of  the  fiber  due  to  age,  both  of  the  plant  and 
of  the  individual  leaves  on  the  plant.  The  coarse  fiber  of  the  brush- 
maker’s  “tampico,”  which  is  imported  under  the  name  of  istle,  is  no 
doubt  obtained  from  the  exterior  leaves  of  certain  varieties  ot  both 
bromelias  and  agaves,  and  perhaps  from  some  of  the  yuccas  also.  Most 
writers,  however,  refer  to  the  “istle,”  “ixtle,”  or  “itzle”  as  the  fiber  of 
the  Bromelia  sylvestris. 

BROMELIA  OR  PINEAPPLE  FAMILY. 

The  plants  of  this  family  are  all  indigenous  to  the  continents  and  isla  ds  of  America, 
and  many  of  them  yield  fibers  of  excellent  quality.  One  variety,  that  producing  the 
delicious  fruit  known  as  the  pineapple  (Anatiassa  sativa),  has  been  introduced  into  the 
East  Indies,  where  its  fibers  have  been  extensively  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
delicate  fabric  called  pina  (pronounced  pinya),  as  also  for  cordage,  &c.  The  pifia 
fabric,  more  delicate  in  texture  than  any  other  known  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  is 
woven  from  the  untwisted  fibers  of  the  pineapple  leaf  after  they  have  been  reduced 
to  the  greatest  fineness.  In  order  to  produce  a  continuous  thread  the  selected  libers 


26 


are  glued  together  at  their  ends,  forming  an  unbroken  line,  by  which  means  the  even 
character  of  the  fiber  is  produced. 

The  fibers  of  the  Bromelia  sylvestris,  known  in  Mexico  as  “istle”  or  “ixtle,”  and  in 
Central  America  as  pita  or  pinuella,  are  probably  more  valuable  in  every  sense  than 
those  from  any  other  tropical  plant,  and  it  would  seem  may  be  produced  more  readily 
than  those  of  Agave  sisilana.  *  *  *  *  This  plant  is  self- propagating,  and  if  left 

to  itself  in  an  open  field  will  soon  cover  the  ground.  In  Central  America,  but  par¬ 
ticularly  in  Nicaragua,  it  is  so  abundant  in  the  forests  as  to  be  a  serious  obstruction 
to  the  passage  of  man  or  beast. 

Fig.  5,  Plate  XIV,  represents  a  leaf  of  this  plart  showing  the  differ¬ 
ence  between  it  and  that  of  the  liennequin  (A.  sisilana). 

The  following  concerning  the  “istle,”  or  Bromelia  sylvestris,  is  Mr. 
Squier’s  quotation  from  a  report  on  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec  by 
Major  Barnard,  IT.  S.  A.: 

Among  the  spontaneous  products  of  the  isthmus  is  the  Bromelia  pita  or  ixtle,  which 
differs  in  some  respects  from  the  Agave  americana  of  Europe,  the  pulque  maguey  of 
Mexico,  and  the  Agave  sisilana  of  Yucatan.  Of  this  prolific  plant  there  are  numerous 
varieties,  all  yielding  fibers  which  vary  in  quality  from  the  coarsest  hemp  to  the  finest 
flax.  It  is  indifferent  to  soil,  climate,  and  season,  and  the  simplicity  of  its  cultivation, 
and  the  facility  of  extracting  and  preparing  its  products,  render  it  of  universal  use. 
From  it  is  fabricated  thread  and  cordage,  mats,  bagging,  and  clothing,  and  the  ham¬ 
mocks  in  which  the  natives  are  born,  repose,  and  die.  The  fibers  of  the  pita  are  some¬ 
times  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  paper;  its  juice  is  used  for  caustic  for  wounds, 
and  its  thorns  serve  the  Indians  as  needles  aud  pins.  The  place  generally  selected  for 
its  cultivation  is  a  thick  forest,  from  which  the  small  undergrowth  is  removed  by 
cutting  and  burniug.  The  roots  of  the  old  plants  are  then  set  out  at  a  distance  of 
from  5  to  6  feet  apart,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  the  leaves  are  cut  and  “rasoed.” 
When  the  ixtle  is  young  its  fibers  are  firm  and  white,  but  as  it  increases  in  age  they 
become  longer  and  coarser.  In  this  manner  it  is  easy  to  select  the  quality  of  fiber 
required.  In  a  wild  state  its  thorns  are  very  numerous,  but  by  cultivation  they  are 
diminished,  both  iu  size  and  number,  aud  in  many  instances  there  are  none  at  all. 
Even  with  the  imperfect  instruments  used  in  cleaning  the  leaves,  four  or  five  pounds 
of  fiber  per  day  is  only  a  fair  average  for  the  labor  of  a  man. 

Plate  XVIII  represents  the  Bromelia  sylvestris,  and  Plate  XIX  repre¬ 
sents  the  Bromelia  ananas.  The  Annual  of  Scientific  Discovery  for 
1870,  under  the  title  “Little-known  fibrous  plants,”  supplies  the  follow¬ 
ing  concerning  the  Bromelia  sylvestris  and  its  fiber: 

THE  IXTLE  FIBER. 

The  following  is  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  J.  McLeod  Murphy  to  the  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture,  accompanied  with  three  skeins  of  the  ixtle  fiber,  Bromelia  sylvestris.  each 
produced  from  a  single  leaf,  of  which  a  single  plant  might  average  twenty.  We  ex¬ 
tract  the  substance  of  this  letter  from  the  report  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture 
for  May  and  June. 

“First  of  all,  before  I  describe  the  plant  and  the  method  of  its  cultivation,  I  beg  to 
call  your  attention  to  the  extraordinary  length  and  strength  of  the  individual  fibers, 
their  susceptibility  of  being  divided  almost  infinitesimally  without  breaking,  their 
flexibility  without  kinking,  and  the  readiness  with  which  they  receive  and  hold  veg¬ 
etable  or  chemical  dyes  without  being  impaired.  Since  my  return  from  Mexico  I 
have  had  little  or  no  opportunity  of  testing  this  plant  practically  ;  but  some  samples, 
such  as  I  send  you,  were  given  to  an  old  and  experienced  maker  of  fishing-tackle,  and 
he  does  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  the  ixtle  fiber  a9  superior  in  every  respect  for  the 
manufacture  of  trout  and  other  fishing  lines,  not  only  on  account  of  the  readiness 
with  which  it  can  be  spun  and  its  extraordinary  strength,  but  its  perfect  freedom  from 
kinks  when  wet.  The  only  secret,  if  there  is  one,  consists  in  the  preliminary  precau¬ 
tion  of  boiling  the  fiber  (as  you  see  it  here)  before  twisting  it.  In  this  one  respect  it 
will  supersede  the  use  of  silk.  Apart,  however,  from  its  use  as  ihread,  I  hazard  noth¬ 
ing  in  saying  it  forms  the  best  paper-stock  that  can  be  obtained.  I  speak  now  with 
reference  to  the  imperfect,  withered,  rejected,  and  dried  leaves  from  which  the  fiber 
cannot  be  conveniently  extracted  by  the  inditfereut  means  that  the  Indians  employ. 
Although  I  have  no  samples  of  the  paper  made  from  this  source  just  now  at  hand,  yet 
I  can  assure  the  Department  that  several  magnificent  samples  of  paper  for  banking 
and  commercial  purposes  have  been  made  by  manufacturers  in  the  Eastern  States 
from  the  dried  loaves  of  the  ixtle  plant,  brought  from  the  neighborhood  of  Tobasco. 

“  The  samples  of  fiber  I  send  with  this  were  obtained  by  the  most  primitive  means, 
namely,  by  beating  and  at  the  same  time  scraping  the  leaf  of  the  plant  (in  a  green 
state)  with  a  dull  machete.  After  the  removal  of  the  glutinous  vegetable  matter  it  is 


27 


combed  out  and  rubbed  between  tbe  knuckles  of  the  baud  until  the  fibers  are  sepa¬ 
rated.  The  next  step  is  to  work  it  in  tepid  water  and  bleach  the  skeins  on  the  grass. 
This  is  the  method  pursued  by  the  Indians  on  the  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  and  the 
average  product  for  the  labor  of  a  man  is  from  4  to  5  pounds  per  day.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  tell  one  so  well  informed  as  yourself  that  this  spontaneous  product  is  the 
Bromelia  sylvestris,  which  differs  in  some  respects  from  the  Agave  americana,  the  Pulque 
de  maguey,  and  Agave  sisilana  of  Campeche,  a  difference  arising  solely  from  soil  and 
climate  influences. 

“The  name  ixtle  is  given  to  that  species  which  is  characterized  by  the  production  of 
the  long  fiber,  and  chiefly  because  the  leaf  being  shaped  like  a  sword,  has  its  edges 
armed  with  prickles,  similar  in  fact  to  the  weapon  formed  from  itzle  or  obsidian,  used 
by  the  Aztecs.  Hence  the  term.  The  pita,  on  the  other  hand,  although  obtained  from 
a  variety  of  the  same  plant,  is  a  coarser  and  shorter  fiber  which  grows  in  the  tierras 
templadas.  The  name  comes  from  the  word  pittes,  which  is  given  to  the  plantations 
of  the  pulque  plant  in  the  uplands  of  Mexico.  But  the  peculiarity  of  ixtle  is  that  it 
grows  almost  exclusively  on  the  southern  shore  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  or  in  what  is 
known  as  the  ‘sota  vcnto,’  that  is  to  say,  between  Alvarado  and  Tobasco,  and  extend¬ 
ing  as  far  inland  as  the  northern  slopes  of  the  dividing  ridge  which  separates  the 
Atlantic  from  the  Pacific.  The  points  generally  selected  for  its  cultivation  are  the 
edges  of  a  thick  forest,  from  which  the  small  undergrowth  is  removed  by  cutting  and 
burning.  The  roots  of  the.  plants  are  then  set  out  at  a  distance  of  5  or  6  feet  apart, 
and  at  the  end  of  a  year  the  leaves  are  cut  and  ‘scraped.’  The  chief  object  is  to 
obtain  a  constant  shelter  from  the  rays  of  the  sun,  which  would  otherwise  absorb  the 
moisture,  and  so  gum  the  fibers  together  as  to  make  them  inseparable.  The  average 
length  of  a  leaf  is  6  feet,  and  the  time  to  cut  it  is  clearly  indicated  by  the  upward 
inclination  it  makes.  In  other  words,*  the  radial  leaves  cease  to  form  curved  lines 
with  their  points  downwards  but  stiffen  themselves  out  at  an  angle  as  if  to  guard  the 
source  of  efflorescence.  When  the  ixtle  is  growing  the  fibers  are  fine  and  white,  but 
as  it  grows  in  age  they  become  longer ;  and  in  a  wild  state  the  thorns  are  very  nume¬ 
rous,  but  by  cultivation  they  are  diminished  both  in  size  and  number,  and  in  many 
instances  there  are  none  at  all.  *  *  *  But  as  yet  no  mechanic  has  succeeded  iu 

devising  a  means  of  effectually  extracting  the  fiber,  and  until  this  is  done  I  presume 
that  its  real  commercial  value  will  remain  unappreciated.  *  *  *  You  will  readily 

discover  the  superiority  of  the  ixtle  over  the  jenequin  of  G’uba,  or  the  hemp  which 
comes  from  Sisal  and  Campeche.” 

Mr.  Squier,  in  the  introduction  to  his  work  on  “  Tropical  Fibers,”  re¬ 
fers  enthusiastically  to  a  “process”  and  a  “machine”  patented  by  Mr. 
J.  E.  Mallory  and  Mr.  G.  Sanford,  respectively,  as  likely  to  greatly  in¬ 
crease  the  supply  of  tropical  fibers,  to  open  new  fields  for  their  applica¬ 
tion,  and  to  “revolutionize  on  both  continents  the  present  mode  of  pro¬ 
duction.”  But  as  this  was  written  in  1861,  and  as  the  “process”  and 
the  “  machine”  did  not  seem  to  be  known  in  1870  to  a  man  so  well  in¬ 
formed  as  the  author  of  the  foregoing  letter,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  Mr.  Squier’s  anticipations  have  not  been  fully  realized. 

The  great  demand  for  machinery  for  this  purpose  has,  however,  stimu¬ 
lated  inventive  talent,  and  a  great  number  of  patents  have  been  granted 
for  fiber-extracting  machinery  since  1861  (several  to  the  same  Mr.  San- 
lord  referred  to  above),  some  of  which  devices  must  have  proved  vastly 
superior  to  the  primitive  processes  of  the  natives,  judging  from  the  quan¬ 
tity  of  this  fiber  which  appears  in  commerce,  and  the  great  number  of 
uses  to  which  it  is  applied.  Instead  of  being  limited  in  its  use  to  the  rude 
manufactures  of  the  natives,  it  is  exported  in  large  quantities  to  the 
manufacturing  countries  where  it  miters  into  a  great  variety  of  textile 
fabrics,  cordage,  &c.  In  this  country  and  England,  at  least,  many  tons 
of  the  coarser  fibers  are  annually  consumed  in  the  manufacture  of 
■  brushes.  According  to  the  United  States  Treasury  report  for  the  year 
1  80,  there  were  imyiorted  into  the  United  States  alone  of  the  fiber 
called  istle : 

Custom-house  valuation. 


To  New  York.  973.219  pounds .  $55,389 

To  New  Orleans,  500,640  pounds .  3'  ,545 

To  other  ports,  656,212  pounds .  41,  227 


Total,  2,130,071  pounds  .  127,161 


28 


There  are  many  other  endogenous  plants  which  yield  fibers  princi¬ 
pally  valuable  for  cordage  and  woven  fabrics,  though  used  to  a  limited 
extent  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes  of  one  form  or  another.  Among 
these  are  noticed  several  varieties  of  the  great  family  of  palms  and  a 
few  of  the  yuccas  or  lilies.  Of  the  former,  the  palm,  known  to  science 
as  Arenga  saccharifera  (Plate  XX)  is  worthy  of  mention  as  the  source 
ot  supply  of  ejoo  fiber ,  or  gamuti ,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  The  tree 
grows  from  20  to  30  feet  high,  and  is  surmounted  by  a  thick  crown  of 
leaves.  The  fiber  is  produced  by  the  natural  splitting  of  the  leaf-stalks 
into  hair-like  filaments,  which  hang  in  tangled  masses  from  their  bases, 
entirely  surrounding  the  trunk.  This  naturally-produced  fiber  is 
noted  for  tenacity  and  durability,  and  for  resisting  moisture,  this  latter 
quality  rendering  it  especially  valuable  for  ship’s  rigging.  Tbe  arenga 
palm  is  properly  an  East  Indian  plant,  but  a  product  very  similar  to  ejoo 
fiber  is  obtained  in  tropical  America  from  a  variety  of  the  palm  known 
to  the  botanist  as  Attalea  funifera,  and  from  which  piassava,  monkey 
grass,  or  para  grass,  is  obtained  in  the  same  way  as  ejoo  fiber  from  the 
arenga  palm.  The  two  trees  resemble  each  other, though  the  American 
palm  is  much  more  stately  and  elegant  than  its  East  Indian  brother. 
Its  crown  of  pinnated  leaves  sometimes  rises  20  feet  above  the  top  of 
the  trunk.  The  fibers  become  detached  by  a  natural  process  from  the 
petioles  of  the  leaves,  and  hang  down  around  the  trunk  in  tufts  several 
feet  in  length,  hence  the  name  funifera.  The  fibers  are  round  and  stiff, 
and  in  some  cases  as  thick  as  rye  straw.  Great  quantities  of  this  fiber 
have  been  consumed  in  England  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes  and 
brooms,  especially  brushes  for  the  street-sweeping  machines  of  London. 
The  juice  of  the  arenga  palm,  when  evaporated,  yields  sugar,  and  when 
fermented  an  intoxicating  liquor,  sometimes  distilled  into  a  kind  of 
brandy  called  arrack.  Each  tree  yields  4  or  5  pounds  of  fiber,  besides 
a  considerable  quantity  of  sago. 

Coir  is  the  fiber  of  the  cocoanut  husk,  and  is  obtained  by  soaking 
the  husks  in  water  for  several  mouths,  or  until  they  are  quite  soft,  then 
drying  them  in  the  sun,  and  finally  beating  them  with  sticks  or  clubs 
until  the  woody  substance  is  all  pulverized  and  separated  from  the 
fiber.  It  is  used  chiefly  for  cordage,  and  for  this  purpose  there  is  said 
to  be  no  superior  mateiial.  The  East  Indies  are  the  principal  source  of 
supply,  and  from  thence  England  imports  annually  several  millions  of 
pounds. 

Of  coir  and  coir  rope,  about  9,000,000  or  10,000,000  pounds  are  annually  shipped 
from  India.  Much  is  prepared  in  Ceylon,  but  Cochin  is  noted  as  the  port  of  ship¬ 
ment  for  the  best  quality  of  yarn,  and  many  thousand  hundred  weight  are  annually 
exported  from  there.  In  1870  we  imported  from  the  East  168,544  hundred  weight  of 
cable  yarn  of  coir,  valued  at  £177,956;  11,407  hundred  weight  of  coir  cordage,  valued 
at  £13,547;  and  1,105  hundred  weight  of  coir  fiber,  value  £24,347.  Probably  the  last 
named  was  intended  for  making  matting  and  brush  fiber,  &.c.  The  produce  of  fiber 
from  the  husk  of  one  nut  sometimes  reaches  2  pounds  in  weight.* 

THE  LILY  FAMILY. 

Of  the  fiber-producing  yuccas  five  varieties  are  indigenous  iu  Mexico, 
Western  Texas,  and  New  Mexico.  The  fibers  are  obtained  from  the 
leaves  in  the  same  manner  as  those  from  the  bromelias  and  agaves.  Of 
the  five  native  American  varieties  the  Y.  gloriosa  and  Y.  aloifolia  (both 
popularly  known  as  Spanish  bayonet),  Adam’s  needles,  petre,  dwarf 
palmetto,  &c.),  and  Y.  filamentosa  (sometimes  called  silk  grass,  Eve’s 
thread,  &c.),  are  referred  to  by  most  writers  on  the  subject  as  conspicu- 

*  Fibers  and  Cordage,  page  155. 


29 


ously  valuable  fiber-producing  plants.  The  fibers  are  very  similar  to 
those  Irorn  the  bromelias  and  agaves.  (Plates  XXI,  XXII,  XXIII.) 

EXOGENOUS  SPECIES. 

Of  the  exogenous  plants  producing  cortical  fiber,  the  urtica  or  nettle, 
the  malva  or  mallow,  and  the  tilia  or  lime-tree  families  are  the  most 
important.  Of  the  fiber  of  the  nettle  family,  common  hemp  is  a  good 
example.  The  fiber  known  to  commerce  as  brown  Indian  hemp  is  the 
product  of  the  mallow,  called  botanically  Hibiscus  canabinus ,  which 
flouri-hes  in  India.  Jute,  or  jute  hemp  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  is  a 
representative  fiber  of  the  lime-tree  family.  Prominent  in  this  tamily 
is  the  linden  (commonly  called  bass  or  bast  wood)  tree,  the  inner  bark 
or  bast  of  which  is  tough  and  fibrous,  and  used  in  Europe  for  making 
mats,  brushes,  &c.  Jute  hemp  is  obtained  from  the  inner  bark  of  the 
Corcliorus  capsularis ,  a  plant  native  in  India,  and  found  occasionally  in 
Brazil.  As  to  machines  for  the  extraction  and  dressing  of  vegetable 
fibers,  there  is  a  great  number  and  a  great  variety  in  use,  but  the  scope 
and  purpose  of  this  article  scarcely  require  the  introduction  of  drawings 
and  descriptions. 

For  those,  however,  who  may  desire  to  investigate  the  subject  fur¬ 
ther,  reference  is  made  to  the  following  list  of  patents  issued  from  the 
United  States  Patent  Office  between  the  years  1853  and  1880,  supplied 
through  the  politeness  of  Thomas  D.  Stetson,  esq.,  solicitor  of  patents, 
23  Murray  street,  Xew  York: 

Pownell,  1853,  Xo.  9650. 

Knowles,  1854,  Xo.  10518. 

Burke,  1857,  Xo.  17420. 

Sanford,  1861,  Xo.  31479. 

Patrullo,  1863,  Xo.  38330. 

Patrullo,  1867,  Xo.  61244. 

Hen  ton,  1867,  Xo.  68363. 

Harkell,  1867,  Xo.  63044. 

Sanford,  1868,  Xo.  84070. 

Adamson  &  Simonin,  1871,  Xo.  117852. 

Adamson  &  Simonin,  1872,  Xo.  126006. 

Favier,  18s0,  226506. 

Sanchez,  1879,  Xo.  221365. 

Southmayde,  1879,  Xo.  213950. 

Courtenay,  1879,  Xo.  217448. 

HORSE-HAIR. 

Horse  hair  of  commerce  is  obtained  from  the  tail  and  man.e,  the 
former  being  usually  longer  and  stouter,  and  chiefly  used  for  textile 
purposes.  Only  the  shorter  and  inferior  horse  hair  is  used  by  brush- 
makers.  All  above  18  inches  is  used  for  weaving,  and  all  below  is 
dressed  and  curled  for  the  upholsterer’s  use,  or  sold  straight  to  the 
brush-maker.  It  is  an  excellent  material  for  many  kinds  of  brushes, 
especially  those  designed  for  rubbing  and  polishing  smooth  surfaces,  as 
of  leather.  Solid  horse  hair  shoe-brushes  are  said  by  some  to  be  supe¬ 
rior  to  those  of  the  best  quality  of  bristles.  It  is  also  used  for  dusting- 
brushes  requiring  longer  and  more  pliable  filaments  than  bristles. 
Ixtle  fiber,  by  dressing  and  dyeing,  is  made  to  closely  resemble  horse¬ 
hair,  and  is  frequently  used  as  a  cheap  imitation  or  substitute.  Con¬ 
siderable  quantities  of  domestic  horse-hair  are  found  in  the  markets  of 


30 


the  United  States,  much  of  which  comes  from  Texas.  It  is  mostly 
short,  and  used  chiefly  for  upholstery  and  brushes.  It  is  separated 
into  colors  by  hand,  combed  or  liatcheled,  assorted  according  to  lengths, 
and  tied  into  bundles  of  one  or  two  pounds  of  the  short  hair,  and  more 
of  the  longer.  The  colors  are  white,  gray,  and  black,  very  little,  how¬ 
ever,  being  white.  The  lengths  are  C  to  10  inches,  10  to  18  inches,  18 
inches,  and  18  to  25  inches. 

Imported  horse-hair  (tail-hair)  is  chiefly  used  for  weaving.  The 
principal  sources  of  supply  are  the  Argentine  Republic,  Brazil,  Uru¬ 
guay,  France,  England,  and  Germany.  For  brushes  horse  hair  is  cut 
into  length.-  and  drawn,  or  set,  in  the  same  manner  as  bristles.  Short 
hair  from  the  mane  (frequently  mixed  with  long  hair  from  the  tufted 
tails  of  neat  cattle)  is  spun  and  twisted  into  a  kind  of  cordage,  which 
in  the  Western  States  and  Territories  is  used  for  lariats.  It  is  also 
woven  into  saddle  girths  or  ciuclias,  for  which  purpose  it  is  conceded 
to  be  superior  to  any  known  material,  unless  some  of  the  tropical 
fibers  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  are  found  to  possess  equal  excel¬ 
lence;  which  is  not  likely,  unless  the  relative  cost  of  the  two  mate¬ 
rials  be  taken  into  account.  Hair  girths  have  been  strongly  recom¬ 
mended  for  the  artillery  and  cavalry  service,  and  for  pack-saddles ; 
but  doubt  has  been  expressed  whether,  in  case  of  adoption,  the  demand 
for  material  might  not  exceed  the  supply.  Of  this,  however,  there 
would  seem  to  be  little  probability.  Of  the  amount  of  horse  and  other 
hair  suitable  for  such  purposes  produced  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  no  statistics  are  at  hand.  But  of  imported  hair,  Treasury  re¬ 
ports  for  1880  furnish  the  following : 


Country. 

Horse-hair  used  for 
weaving. 

Hair  of  all  kinds  not 
elsewhere  specified. 

Argentine  Republic . 

Poun  ds. 

1,  278, 157 
264,  925 
26,  626 
58,  840 
193,  780 

$215,  846 
44,  414 
5,  439 
24,  724 
117,  116 

Pounds. 
597, 178 
234,  276 
583,  782 
583,  782 
463,  217 
80,  262 
14,  860 
1,  255 
27,  589 
199,  322 
16,  671 
3,572 
55,  224 
59,517 
435,  722 

$98, 375 
51,  746 
48,  000 
120,  605 
71,  272 
11,  237 
2,441 
135 
3,  634 
35,  594 
3,  980 
590 
10,  431 
14, 199 
75,  200 

Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick . 

2,811 
120 
7,  268 

368 

8 

1,  370 

3,  075 

472 

14,  298 

2,875 

1,  849,  900 

412,  632 

3,  048,  520 

547, 439 

WHALEBONE. 


Whalebone  or  baleen,  is  a  horny  substance  consisting  of  fibrous 
laminse,  laid  lengthwise  along  the  upper  jaw  of  the  whale,  overlapping 
each  other  “  like  shingles  on  a  roof.”  The  plates  of  baleen  in  the  mouth 
of  a  full-grown  “right  whale”  are  often  10  or  12  inches  wide  at  the  root 
ends  and  four  to  six-tenths  of  an  inch  thick.  They  are  longest  at  about 
the  middle  of  the  series  and  sometimes  measure  12  or  15  feet.  They 
taper  from  the  root  to  the  free  end,  and  are  curved  somewhat  like  a 
scythe.  Along  the  concave  edge  is  a  kind  of  hairy  fringe,  varying  in 
length  from  a  few  inches  to  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  in  size  from  fine  horse¬ 
hair  to  the  coarsest  bristles.  The  size  and  quality  of  both  bone  and 
fringe  vary  greatly  with  the  kind  of  whale  producing  them. 


31 


Zoologically,  whales,  or  mammalia  of  the  cetacean  order,  are  divided 
into  two  great  families — “  blowing”  cetacea,  so  called  from  the  habit  of 
spouting  water  through  the  nasal  openings  or  spiracles  in  the  top  of 
the  head,  and  “herbivorous”  cetacea  (manati).  The  family  of  “blow¬ 
ing”  cetacea  is  divided  into  two  tribes — the  tribe  of  whales  ( Balcena ) 
and  the  dolphin  tribe,  distinguished  mainly  by  the  size  and  shape  of  the 
head. 

The  whale  tribe  (Balccnidce)  is  divided  into  the  genus  whale  and  the 
genus  cachalot  (sperm  whale).  The  genus  whale  produces  the  baleen. 
The  cachalot  has  none;  but  teeth  instead,  in  the  lower  jaw  only,  which 
fit  into  Corresponding  cavities  in  the  upper  jaw  when  the  mouth  is  shut. 
Finally  there  are  two  sections  of  the  baleen-producing  genus,  the  true 
whale  and  the  rorquals. 

Whales  properly  so  called  are  the  Arctic,  Greenland  or  right  whale 
(Balcena  mysticetus ),  and  one  or  two  other  species  in  the  Northern  Pa¬ 
cific  and  Antarctic  Oceans.  Among  whalemen  (according  to  the  author¬ 
ity  of  one  of  them)  “the  rqore  common  species  of  the  right  whale  are 
known  as  the  Arctic  bowhead,  the  Greenland  bowhead,  the  northwest¬ 
ern  whale  (a  species  taken  in  what  is  known  as  the  Kodiak  ground, 
and  in  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  between  50°  and  60°  north  latitude);  the 
South  Sea  whale,  captured  south  of  20°  south  latitude,  and  down  to  the 
southern  ice  barrier;  the  sulphur-bottom,  taken  on  the  European  coast; 
the  humpback  and  finback,  caught  almost  everywhere;  and  the  rorqual, 
the  largest  and  most  worthless  of  all.”  The  great  northern  rorqual 
seems  to  be  referred  to  and  to  monopolize  the  name,  though  the  hump¬ 
back,  finback,  and  sulphur-bottom  undoubtedly  belong  to  that  series. 

Whalebone  is  white,  black,  or  some  shade  between  the  two,  and  some¬ 
times  all  in  the  mouth  of  the  same  whale.  Arctic  and  Greenland 
whales  or  bowheads  produce  plates,  which  are  termed  variegated,  hav¬ 
ing  alternate  streaks  of  black  and  white,  the  white,  however,  never  ex¬ 
tending  the  entire  length  of  the  slab,  and  very  seldom  through  it,  be¬ 
ing  limited  to  a  thin  layer  on  each  side.  The  sulphur-bottom  and  the 
humpback  have  black  bone,  finbacks  have  nearly,  white  bone  (the  outer 
edges  dark),  with  some  slabs  nearly,  though  rarely,  if  ever,  wholly, 
black.  It  is  as  readily  split  as  the  black,  but  said  to  be  more  brittle 
when  dry. 

Bone  from  the  Arctic  wrhale  is  long,  thin,  smooth,  and  usually  blue- 
black,  though  sometimes  variegated.  The  specimen,  of  which  Fig.  7, 
Plate  XXIV,  is  a  representation,  was  taken  from  the  tip  of  an  Arctic 
slab  10  feet  long.  Bone  of  the  Greenland  whale  is  like  the  Arctic,  only 
more  wavy,  and  fringe  shorter.  Bone  of  the  Northwest  whale  is  long 
and  very  thick,  fully  half  an  inch,  of  a  muddy-brown  color,  and  fiber 
very  fine.  That  from  the  South  Sea  whale  is  like  the  last,  except  it 
is  shorter.  Sulphur-bottom  bone  is  bright  black,  nearly  as  wide  as 
long  (6  to  36  inches),  and  has  a  very  coarse  fringe.  Humpback  bone  is 
nearly  a  bright  black,  longer  and  narrower  than  the  sulphur-bottom, 
but  with  as  coarse  a  fringe.  The  finback  has  a  short,  white,  or  par¬ 
tially  white,  bone,  with  a  coarse  fiinge.  The  last  three  bones  are  very 
porous,  small  holes  or  capillary  tubes  running  nearly  the  whole  length, 
and  somewhat  brittle  when  dry.  Arctic,  Greenland,  Northwest,  and 
South  Sea  bone  is  tough,  elastic,  fine-grained,  and  capable  of  taking  a 
high  polish. 

Whalebone  is  split  with  gauged  knives,  after  being  softened  in  a 
steam  or  sand  bath.  It  can  be  reduced  to  very  small  strips,  smaller 
even  than  the  samples  delineated  in  Piate  XXV,  in  which — 

Fig.  1  represents  long  Arctic  strips,  two  sizes,  each  about  5  feet  long, 


32 


of  rectangular  cross-section ;  one  No.  19  by  No.  21,  English  standard 
wire  gauge,  and  the  other  about  No.  21  by  No.  23. 

Fig.  2  represents  specimens  of  humpback  and  finback,  about  18  inches 
long,  and  split  to  about  the  same  size  as  the  larger  of  the  two  Arctic 
samples,  the  black  being  humpback  and  the  white  finback. 

Fig.  3  same  as  Fig.  2,  except  that  the  strips  are  the  same  size  as  the 
smaller  of  the  two  Arctic  specimens. 

Fig.  4,  Plate  XXIV,  represents  a  bundle  of  “hair,”  or  fringe  from 
Arctic  bone. 

Fig.  5,  fringe  from  South  Sea  specimens. 

Fig.  6,  fringe  from  finback  specimens. 

Fig.  8,  a  small  piece  of  humpback  bone,  showing  the  short,  coarse 
fringe. 

Fig.  9,  Plate  XXV,  Arctic  bone,  white  and  black,  from  same  plate ; 
and 

Fig.  10,  “  nose  bone,”  black  and  white,  from  same  South  Sea  whale. 

Mr.  F.  E.  Merimau,  of  Boston,  a  dealer  in  and  manufacturer  of  whale¬ 
bone,  through  whose  politeness  these  specimens  and  much  of  this  in¬ 
formation  was  obtained,  says : 

It  would,  however,  he  difficult,  without  special  and  as  far  as  I  know  improved 
machinery,  to  successfully  split  it  as  line  as  bristles.  I  am  not  aware  of  the  existence 
of  machinery  capable  of  reducing  bone  to  that  size.  The  bone  would  necessarily  be 
square,  or  nearly  so.  If  rounded  the  cost,  would  be  enormous.  *  *  *  The  loose 

fringes  along  the  edges  of  the  slabs  or  plates  I  have  sold  to  brush-makers  for  shoe- 
brushes,  carpet-brushes,  and  flue-brushes;  also  to  mattress  manufacturers,  but  I  have 
not  known  of  their  being  used  for  horse-brushes.  *  *  *  Cost :  Arctic  bone,  size 

of  samples,  or  a  little  smaller,  in  lengths  from  1  foot  to  8  feet,  would  be  worth  .$5  per 
pound;  Northwest,  Greenland,  and  South  Sea  would  be  worth  $4.50  per  pound,  length 
from  1  foot  to  5  feet.  Sulphur-bottom,  6  inches  to  24  inches,  perhaps  30  inches,  $1.50 
per  pound;  humpback  and  finback,  $1.30  per  pound.  6  inches  to  18  and  20  inches.  If 
made  much  smaller  than  the  samples  the  cost  would  be  increased.  *  *  *  The 

weight  of  fringe  (hair,  as  we  term  it)  in  a  medium-sized  whale  which  produced  1,200 
pounds  to  1,700  pounds  of  bone  would  be  somewhere  from  8  to  12  pounds.  *  *  * 

The  finest  fringe  is  found  in  the  Arctic  or  Greenland  whale;  next  in  the  Northwest 
and  South  Sea  whale,  and  coarsest  in  the  sulphur-bottom,  humpback,  and  finback. 
These  fringes  sell :  Arctic  and  Greenland,  at  10  to  15  cents  per  pound,  massed  together 
in  one  grand  confusion  of  lengths;  wheu  it  is  carefully  cut  off  and  butts  kept  toget  her, 
it  is  worth  40  to  50  cents  per  pound.  The  H.  B.,  S.  B.  and  F.  B.,  (coarse  hair),  being 
in  good  order,  is  worth  from  12  cents  to  $1  per  pound  depending  on  condition.  *  *  * 

In  all  whales  producing  slab  or  plate  bone  there  can  be  found  at  the  nose  end  of  the 
upper  jaw  “nose  bone,”  as  it  is  called.  This  I  have  seeu  both  round  and  flat.  The 
round  was  from  5  to  10  inches  long  and  about  as  large  as  No.  6,  English  standard-wire 
gauge.  They  run  across  the  anterior  portion  of  the  upper  jaw  only.  1  send  speci¬ 
mens  of  these,  only  flat,  from  a  South  Sea  whale,  white  and  black,  as  you  will  notice, 
aud  all  from  the  same  whale. 

A  knowledge  of  wlialebone  as  a  brush  material  to  an  officer  liable 
to  be  called  upon  to  supply  brushes  to  the  military  service,  is  mainly 
useful  to  enable  him  to  avoid  it.  It  is  inferior  to  bristles  in  toughness, 
elasticity,  and  durability,  and  in  all  forms  artificially  prepared  is  more 
expensive.  It  is  only  for  cheap  brushes  to  be  used  dry,  and  for  brushes 
requiring  stiffer  material  than  can  be  found  among  bristles,  that  whale¬ 
bone  recommends  itself  as  a  brush  material — the  natural  filaments  for 
the  former  and  split  bone  for  the  latter.  For  either,  however,  it  is 
superior  to  “Tampico”  or  to  “rice  root.”  Fine  bone  fringe  (hair)  is  said 
to  make  very  satisfactory  hair,  shoe,  and  clothes  brushes,  and  would 
probably  be  very  serviceable  to  harness-makers  for  cleaning  leather 
work;  but  as  a  horse-brush  it  would  soon  break  down  and  be  torn  to 
pieces  by  the  curry-comb.  Its  use  in  the  adulteration  of  bristles  is 
probably  not  so  common  as  is  popularly  supposed,  for  the  fringe  bone, 
the  only  material  that  could  deceive,  is  not  sufficiently  abundant.  When 


33 


practiced,  however,  it  is  a  fraud  uot  readily  detected,  especially  when 
the  “  hair  ”  has  been  carefully  selected  of  appropriate  color  and  size. 

The  use  of  artificially-prepared  bone  in  brush-making  is  usually  lim¬ 
ited  to  “pan”  work,  though  it  may  be  “drawn,”  even  when  not  split 
very  fine,  by  first  heating  it  in  a  steam  or  sand  bath  to  soften  it  and 
make  it  pliable.  “Pan”  work  and  “drawn”  work  will  be  explained 
further  on. 

RICE  ROOT. 

The  long  thread-like  roots  of  the  rice  plant,  when  washed,  dressed, 
and  assorted  into  sizes,  resemble  the  twigs  of  broom  from  the  well-known 
broom  corn.  They  are  much  tougher,  however,  and  when  moist  may  b«| 
bent  and  drawn  double  in  the  bight  of  a  wire,  like  bristles.  This  fiber 
is  used  quite  extensively  for  clothes-brushes  and  for  a  kind  of  horse¬ 
brush  called  by  dealers  “dandruff-brush.”  They  are  made  like  bristle 
brushes,  except  that  they  are  always  set  in  wooden  stocks,  and  in  larger 
and  longer  tufts.  In  the  hands  of  a  careful  groom  they  are  useful  and 
valuable,  but  not  a  complete  substitute  for  the  bristle  brush.  They  are, 
of  coui’se,  much  cheaper,  but  wear  a  correspondingly  short  time.  If 
kept  dry  and  cleaned  with  the  currycomb,  after  the  manner  of  most 
hostlers,  they  soon  break  up  and  become  worthless.  The  best  of  this 
material  is  obtained  from  Italy,  a  good  deal  from  Mexico,  some  from  the 
Southern  States,  aud  some  from  Hungary.  None,  however,  equals  that 
from  Italy,  which  is  said  to  be  toughest  of  all.  It  appears  in  the  market 
in  bundles  of  a  pound  or  more.  Fig.  — ,  Plate  XI,  represents  a  bundle 
of  rice  root  as  it  comes  from  the  market  to  the  hand  of  the  brush-maker. 
(Sample  presented  by  J.  G.  McMurray  &  Co.,  of  Lansingburgh,  1ST.  Y.) 

SPLIT  QUILLS.  ’ 

As  long  ago  as  1842  the  shafts  of  quills  were  in  England  split  into 
fine  strips  and  used  in  the  manufacture  of  brushes.  Up  to  this  time, 
however,  this  material  has  not  been  extensively  used  by  American  brush- 
makers, though  Miles  Brothers, of  Xew  York, have  putaquill  horse  brush 
upon  the  market,  which  has  the  merit  of  cheapness  at  least,  being 
offered  at  $12  per  dozen.  They  are  stiff  and  penetrating  when  new, 
but,  of  course,  are  much  less  durable  than  good  bristle  brushes.  A. 
bunch  of  split  quills  as  they  appear  prepared  for  market  is  shown  in 
Plate  XI. 

HORN,  ETC. 

In  1872  a  process  was  patented  in  England  for  reducing  horn  and 
similar  substances  to  a  condition  suitable  for  brushes.  These  substances 
are  “softened  by  stepping  them  in  an  infusion  of  sage  leaves  or  plants 
of  that  class,  then  flattened,  rolled  out,  and  extended  and  molded  so 
as  to  distintegrate  them  into  threads.”  It  is  doubtful,  though,  if  this 
process  is  likely  to  very  largely  increase  the  supply  of  good,  economical 
brush  fiber,  or  to  supply  a  want  that  is  not  better  met  with  some  other 
material.  At  least  American  brush-makers  do  not  use  horn  fiber,  and 
few,  if  any,  have  seen  it. 

Part  III.— Brushes. 

The  term  brush  is  applied  to  a  great  variety  of  implements  formed 
by  attaching  the  hairs  of  animals,  vegetable  fitters,  &e.,  to  some  kind 
of  firm  material  which  gives- the  hairs  the  necessary  support,  holds  them 
in  their  proper  arrangement,  and  serves  as  a  handle  to  the  brush. 

5249— Ap  21 - 3 


34 


Brushes,  though  varying  widely  in  form  and  material,  are,  in  general, 
of  two  kinds,  simple  and  compound  ;  the  former  consisting  of  but  a  sin¬ 
gle  tuft  arranged  around  the  end  of  a  slender  “stock,”*  or  handle,  and 
the  latter  of  several  tufts  set  into  a  stock  in  close  proximity.  The  former 
embraces  an  almost  endless  variety  of  tools  used  for  the  most  part  in 
laying  on  colors,  as  well  as  many  forms  of  brushes  made  of  long  hairs 
or  libers  designed  for  dusting  purposes.  The  latter  class  includes  horse- 
brushes,  most  of  those  used  for  household  purposes,  and  those  employed 
about  the  person  ;  in  fact,  nearly  all  that  are  used  for  removing  dust  and 
dirt  from  other  objects,  and  those  used  for  polishing  surfaces  by  rub¬ 
bing.  The  compound  class  is  again  divided  into  two  varieties — “set”  or 
•“pan”  work,  and  “drawn”  work.  Common  floor-brushes  and  molders’ 
brushes  are  types  of  the  former,  and  horse-brushes  and  clothes-brushes 
of  the  latter.  Drawn  brushes  are  either  “solid”  or  “penetrating”;  a 
“solid”  brush  is  one  having  all  the  libers  trimmed  to  the  same  length  ; 
a  “  penetrating”  brush  is  composed  of  fibers  of  unequal  length. 

MANUFACTURE  OF  COMPOUND  BRUSHES. 

PREPARATION  OF  BRISTLES  AND  FIBER. 

The  process  by  which  brush  material  is  prepared  for  “drawing”  or 
“  setting,”  varies  with  the  kind  of  material  and  the  character  of  the 
brush  to  be  made. 

Tampico  is  generally  fully  prepared  at  the  dressing  factories,  both 
“solid”  and  in  mixtures  adapted  to  the  wants  of  most  brush-makers. 
A  few  manufacturers,  however,  buy  raw  fiber  aud  prepare  it  themselves, 
substituting  hand  for  mill  dressing.  In  either  case  the  operations  are 
substantially  the  same,  hackling,  dyeing,  combing,  cutting  up,  and 
mixing  with  other  material. 

Rice  root  requires  little  preparation  other  than  cutting  up  and  moist¬ 
ening,  the  latter  to  facititate  the  drawing  and  to  prevent  the  breaking 
of  the  fiber  in  the  process.  It  is  clean  and  sufficiently  well  assorted 
when  prepared  for  market. 

Horse-hair  usually  comes  to  the  hand  of  the  brush-maker  in  assorted 
colors,  well  combed  and  bundled,  and  requiring  merely  to  be  cut  into 
suitable  lengths. 

Whalebone,  artificially  split,  needs  only  to  be  cut  to  lengths  for  “set” 
or  “pan”  work,  but  should  be  softened  in  a  steam  or  sand  bath  to  pre¬ 
pare  it  for  “  drawing.”  Fringe  bone  is  prepared  in  nearly  the  same  way 
as  horse  hair,  Avhich  it  resembles. 

Split  quills  require  both  combing  and  cutting  to  prepare  them  for 
“drawing”;  they  are  rarely,  if  ever,  used  for  “pan  work.” 

TOOLS. 

Bench-comb. — This  tool  is  usually  composed  of  about  seveuteeu  steel 
teeth,  0  or  8  inches  long,  set  at  intervals  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch  or 
more  in  a  wooden  block  which  is  secured  to  the  workman’s  bench.  (Fig. 
1,  Plate  XXVTl.j  It  is  the  most  useful  of  all  the  brush-makers’  tools. 
It  is  iudispensalbe  in  a  brush  factory  and  is  in  constant  use  in  handling 


'  Various  names  as  “stock,”  “block,”  “back,”  “body,”  “tree,”  “haudle,”  &c.,  are 
applied  to  this  part  of  the  brusli.  “  Stock”  seems  mosc  appropriate  aud  is  generally 
used.  Bristles,  &c.,  are  also  called  “stock.”  Whether  the  tibrous  or  solid  part  of  the 
brush  is  roforrod  to  can  bo  readily  determined  by  the  context. 


35 


all  kinds  of  hair  and  liber,  in  cleaning  and  mixing  them,  in  “  loosening  np ” 
bundles  of  bristles  for  “dragging,77  “butting  down,”  “flagging  up,”  &c. 

Shears. — Shears  of  a  peculiar  construction,  and  especially  designed  for 
the  purpose,  are  used  for  cutting  up  all  kinds  of  stock  when  the  cutting 
precedes  the  drawing.  When  cut  after  drawing,  it  is  done  with  the 
trimming  shears.  The  former  instrument  somewhat  resembles  that  used 
by  tobacconists  for  cutting  up  plug  tobacco,  except  that  the  lower  blade 
is  sharply  curved,  forming  a  hollow  iuto  which  the  fibers  are  laid  to  pre¬ 
vent  their  spreading  out  and  being  cut  into  unequal  lengths.  The  lower 
blade  is  short  and  has  flanges  on  the  lower  side  by  which  it  is  bolted 
to  the  bench.  One  end  of  the  upper  blade  is  pivoted  to  the  lower,  and 
the  other  end  prolonged  into  a  handle  or  lever.  On  the  right  side  of 
the  shears  is  an  adjustable  stop  or  gauge,  fastened  to  the  bench  by  a 
thumb-screw,  to  regulate  the  length  of  the  cuttings.  (Fig.  2,  Plate 
XXVII.) 

Size  stick. — As  already  explained,  bristles  are  graded  in  the  market  by 
their  lengths  in  inches  and  fractions  of  an  inch  according  to  the  Amer¬ 
ican  method,  or  by  numbers  corresponding  to  certain  lengths  as  in  the 
French.  Brush-makers,  however,  have  a  conventional  standard  of 
measure  called  a  “size  stick,”  by  which  they  designate  lengths  of  paint 
brushes,  and  lengths  of  stock  when  dragging  it  to  sizes..  It  is  usually 
made  of  some  hard  wood  in  the  form  of  a  truncated  pyramid  with 
chamfered  corners.  (Fig.  3,  Plate  XXVII.)  Across  one  face  a  hori¬ 
zontal  line  is  marked  2^  inches  above  the  base.  Immediately  above 
this  line  is  a  row  Of  nine  dots  in  black,  or  some  color  readily  distin¬ 
guished  from  that  of  the  surrounding  wood.  When  a  bundle  of  bristles 
reaches  from  the  bench  on  which  the  size  stick  stands  to  this  line,  or 
when  a  paint  brush  is  composed  of  bristles  of  the  same  length,  either 
is  designated  as  Xo.  9.  The  numbers  on  the  scale  decrease  by  units  as 
the  lengths  increase  by  regular  quarter-inch  gradations  from  Xo.  9  (9 
dots)  toXo.  1  (1  dot),  after  which  the  regular  quarter-inch  increments  are 
designated  by  a  number  of  naughts  marked  above  the  lines,  but  in  an 
inverse  order,  ranging  from  one  to  eight.  Bristles  or  brushes  longer 
than  Xo.  1  are  designated  by  so  many  naughts  up  to  “  8-0,”  above  which 
the  lengths  are  expressed  in  inches. 

Engine-comb. — Sometimes  to  make  brushes  requiring  extra  stiffness 
the  brush-maker  assorts  his  bristles  by  a  process  that  separates  them 
according  to  thickness  and  stiffness,  as  dragging  does  according  to 
length.  This  process  is  called  “  engining,”  and  the  instrument  used 
an  “engine”  or  “engine-comb.”  This  “engine”  is  merely  a  comb 
composed  of  a  row  of  round,  sharp-pointed,  accurately-spaced  steel 
teeth,  usually  set  in  a  plug  of  solder  cast  iuto  a  wooden  stock  which 
may  be  sci'ewed  down  to  the  bench.  The  comb  is  from  12'  to  15  inches 
loug,  and  the  teeth  rather  more  than  2  inches  high.  There  are  3  sizes 
or  numbers,  Xo.  1,  Xo.  2,  and  Xo.  3,  Xo.  1  being  the  coarsest  and  Xo.  3  the 
finest.  The  spaces  between  the  teeth  are  uniform  for  the  same  size, 
and  are  accurately  gauged  by  a  standard  for  each,  so  that  when  bristles 
are  drawn  through  them  all  above  a  certain  size  will  be  caught  and  held 
fast  between  the  teeth.  The  Xo.  1  “  engine  ”  is  calculated  to  extract 
only  the  stiffest  of  Bussian  bristles. 

Stock  to  be  “  engined  ”  is  first  carefully  combed  and  mixed,  then  in 
quantities  of  a  few  ounces  at  a  time  spread  evenly  across  the  surface  of 
a  long,  narrow,  and  very  stiff'  brush,  and  pressed  in  among  the  bristles 
with  a  straight-edge.  A  second  and  similar  brush  is  then  applied  to 
the  first,  and  the  two  driven  together,  holding  the  bristles  between 
them  with  the  roots  projecting  on  one  side  and  the  flags  on  the  other . 


The  workman  taking  the  two  brushes  by  the  ends,  and  holding  them 
parallel  to  the  comb,  presses  the  root  ends  of  the  bristles  down  between 
the  teeth.  By  pulling  the  brushes  horizontally  away  from  the  instru¬ 
ment  the  thick  hairs  are  left  sticking  between  the  teeth  and  the  thin 
hairs  between  the  brushes.  (Fig.  4,  Plate  XXVII.)  Formerly  when 
shoemakers  and  other  leather-workers  used  bristles  instead  of  needles 
to  tip  their  waxed  threads,  those  suitable  for  the  purpose  were  selected, 
by  this  process  and  called  “  shoe-hair,”  and  by  this  name  the  bristles 
extracted  with  a  No.  1  engine  are  still  known. 

BORING  TIIE  STOCK. 

The  stock  of  a  “  drawn  ”  compound  brush  is  usually  composed  of 
two  parts,  the  body,  in  which  the  tufts  are  inserted,  and  the  veneer  oi 
back  which  serves  merely  for  a  finish.  When  properly  bored,  the  holes 
in  the  body  do  not  extend  entirely  through  with  full  diameter,  but- 
beyond  the  depth  to  which  it  is  desired  to  insert  the  tufts,  they  are 
reduced  to  a  size  only  sufficient  to  admit  the  loop  of  the  drawing  wire. 

The  boring  is  generally  done  with  a  single  bit  or  drill  and  in  one 
operation,  a  gauge  or  stop  regulating  the  depth  of  the  hole  and  per¬ 
mitting  only  a  small  central  point  of  the  tool  to  penetrate  through.  In 
well  made  brushes  the  tufts  fill  the  holes  snugly,  and  are  drawn  down 
firmly  against  the  shoulder  of  the  counterbore.  This  part  of  the  work, 
however,  being  hidden  by  the  veneer  is  frequently  executed  more  with 
a  view  to  profit  of  the  manufacturer  than  to  excellence  and  durability 
of  the  brush.  To  facilitate  “drawing”  the'  holes  are  too  frequently 
bored  through  full  size;  and  to  economize  material  an  insufficient  num¬ 
ber  of  fibers  to  make  a  snug  fit  in  the  holes  are  used.  The  holes  are 
usually  arranged  in  parallel  rows  conforming  to  the  shape  of  the  stock, 
those  in  the  center  perpendicular  to  the  surface  and  those  between  the 
center  and  periphery  inclining  outward,  the  inclination  slightly  in¬ 
creasing  with  each  successive  row  to  give  the  proper  splay  to  the  brush. 
In  factories  not  supplied  with  power  the  boring  is  done  with  a  machine 
turned  by  the  foot.  (Fig.  3,  Plate  XXVI.)  The  brush  body,  with  a 
perforated  pattern  or  templet  clamped  to  it  to  mark  the  position  of 
the  holes,  is  held  by  the  workman  against  a  wooden  disk  mounted  on  a 
slide  having  motion  to  and  from  the  bit  in  the  direction  of  its  axis. 
While  drawing  the  slide  toward  the  bit  the  brush  body  is  turned  by 
the  workman  so  as  to  direct  the  point  of  the  bit  into  the  holes  in  the 
templet,  care  being  taken  to  keep  tbecenterof  the  pattern  and  the  axis 
of  the  bit  in  the  same  vertical  plane  and  to  set  the  disk  (the  inclina¬ 
tion  of  which  is  adjustable  by  means  of  a  pawl  and  ratchet)  at  the 
proper  angle  for  each  successive  row  of  holes.  In  large  manufactories 
power  machines  are  employed  capable  of  boring  fifteen  or  twenty  bodies 
at  a  time  and  upwards  of  three  hundred  thousand  holes  in  a  day.  A 
very  suitable  machine  of  this  kind  is  built  at  the  Gage  Machine  Works, 
at  Waterford,  N.  Y.,  and  is  generally  used  in  the  large  factories 
throughout  the  country.  It  consists  of  a  row  of  bits  with  their  axes  all 
in  the  same  horizontal  plane,  and  their  points  all  in  the  same  straight 
line,  mounted  transversely  on  an  iron  frame,  and  driven  each  by  a 
“quarter-turn”  belt  from  a  pulley  on  a  long  shaft  running  under  the 
frame  longitudinally.  The  brush  bodies  to  be  bored  are  secured,  one 
in  front  of  each  bit,  to  the  lower  bar  of  a  rectangular  frame  suspended 
from  near  the  ceiling,  and  having  a  vibratory  motion  like  the  batten  of 
of  a  weaver’s  loom.  The  rectangular  frame  is  pivoted  above  to  the 
arms  of  a  rocking  shaft  and  counterbalanced  to  allow  a  free  but 


37 


limited  motion  in  a  vertical  direction,  as  well  as  one  of  oscillation,  with¬ 
out  disturbing  the  parallelism  of  the  lower  bar  with  the  line  passing- 
through  the  points  of  the  bits.  The  vibrations  of  the  frame  are  pro¬ 
duced  by  a  number  of  earns  on  a  shaft  behind  the  lower  bar  and  par¬ 
allel  with  it.  The  cam  shaft  is  driven  by  a  belt  from  the  shaft  that 
drives  the  bits,  and  is  started  and  stopped  at  will  by  a  friction  clutch 
-operated  by  a  treadle  convenient  to  the  foot  of  the  workman.  The 
lower  bar  of  the  vibrating  frame  carries  on  its  side  toward  the  bits  a 
swinging  board  with  hinges  at  intervals  along  the  horizontal  center¬ 
line.  The  swing  of  the  board  is  limited  to  a  few  degrees  from  a  verti¬ 
cal  plane,  and  is  provided  with  notched  arcs  and  latches  by  which  it 
can  be  set  at  the  necessary  inclination.  All  the  latches  are  connected 
so  that  they  can  be  operated  by  a  single  lever  in  the  middle  of  the 
frame.  In  front  of  each  bit,  with  the  center  in  the  same  vertical  plane 
with  its  axis,  a  metal  disk  is  attached  to  the  swinging  board.  Ali  the 
disks  having  their  centers  in  the  same  horizontal  line,  being  of  the  same 
diameter,  and  having  teeth  on  their  circumferences,  are  made  to  rotate 
together  by  means  of  a  long  rack  running  over  their  upper  edges, 
when  any  one  of  them  is  set  in  motion.  On  the  face  of  each  disk  are 
screw  clamps  for  holding  the  brush  body.  The  central  disk,  however, 
has  clamped  to  it  a  perforated  metal  pattern  or  templet  similar  to  that 
used  with  the  foot  machine.  Over  this  disk,  and  concentric  with  it,  is 
a  raised  rim  of  larger  diameter  which  serves  as  a  hand  wheel  by  which 
the  workman  rotates  the  disks  and  raises  and  lowers  the  counterpoised 
frame.  The  bit  in  front  of  this  central  disk  is  replaced  by  a  steel  slide 
with  a  sharp  point  projecting  beyond  the  points  of  the  bits,  but  allowed 
a  backward  motion  against  a  spiral  spring  or  counter-weight.  The 
brush  bodies  to  be  bored  are  clamped  upon  the  disks  so  as  to  occupy 
the  same  position  relatively  that  the  pattern  occupies  upon  the  central 
disk,  so  that  the  steel  point  and  the  bits  will  enter  corresponding  points 
of  the  pattern  and  the  brush  bodies  at  the  same  time.  When  these  ar¬ 
rangements  have  been  completed  the  workman  takes  his  seat  in  front  of 
the  central  disk,  seizes  the  hand- wheel  with  both  hands,  rotates  the  disks, 
•or  raises  or  lowers  the  frames  until  the  hole  in  the  pattern  at  which  he 
desires  to  commence  boring  (usually  one  in  the  outside  row)  is  opposite 
the  steel  point,  then,  having  given  the  disks  the  proper  inclination  by 
means  of  the  arcs  and  latches,  he  starts  the  cam  shaft  with  his  foot, 
and,  as  the  frame  swings  forward,  guides  it  so  that  the  index  enters 
the  proper  hole  in  the  pattern.  The  index  rod  is  driven  back  against 
the  spiral  spring,  and  the  brush  bodies  are  pressed  against  the  bits  which 
penetrate  to  an  uniform  depth,  gauged  by  the  “throw”  of  the  cams, 
and  exactly  at  the  points  indicated  on  the  pattern.  With  each  ]  evolu¬ 
tion  of  the  cam  shaft  the  disks  are  withdrawn  from  the  bits,  and  before 
they  are  again  driven  forward  the  operator  must  have  revolved  and 
raised  or  lowered  them  so  that  the  index  will  exactly  enter  the  next 
adjacent  hole  in  the  pattern.  To  give  the  brush  the  proper  splay,  the 
swinging  board  is  set  at  the  greatest  angle  of  inclination  to  the  axis  of 
the  bits  while  the  exterior  row  of  holes  is  being  bored.  With  each  suc¬ 
cessive  row  the  inclination  is  reduced,  until  at  the  center  the  board  is 
vertical  and  the  holes  perpendicular  to  the  surface. 

The  stocks  of  most  drawn  brushes  are  of  wood  or  leather,  though 
horn,  bone,  ivory,  pyroxyline,  vulcanized  rubber,  &c.,  are  used  to  some 
extent,  especially  for  hair,  tooth,  nail,  and  other  forms  of  small  brushes 
used  about  the  i>erson. 

Stocks  for  set  brushes  are  also  generally  of  wood ;  they  are  bored  in 
a  similar  manner  to  that  described  above,  except  that  the  holes  are 
larger  and  never  bored  quite  through. 


38 


SETTING  AND  DRAWING. 

“Set”  or  “pan”  work. — To  make  “set”  or  “pan”  brushes  the  work¬ 
men  sit  around  a  table  (Fig.  1,  Plate  XXVI,)  in  the  center  of  which  is 
a  pan  of  molten  cement.  Each  workman  has  at  his  left  hand  a  pile  of 
prepared  stock,  at  his  right  hand  a  thread  drawn  through  a  hole  in  the 
table  from  a  spool  beneath,  and  in  front  a  knife  blade  set  in  the  table 
to  cut  off  the  thread.  He  holds  in  his  left  hand  a  small  bundle  of  stock 
evenly  butted  down,  and  with  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  the  right 
hand  draws  from  it  a  small  “pinch”  with  a  sufficient  number  of  fibers 
to  fill  a  hole  in  the  stock,  binds  one  end  with  thread,  dips  it  in  the  hot 
cement,  and  inserts  it  with  a  kind  of  twisting  motion.  The  cement  is 
composed  principally  of  pitch  and  resin,  and  is  kept  hot  by  a  steam 
jacket  around  the  pan  when  steam  is  available,  otherwise  by  a  lamp 
or  small  stove  under  the  table. 

“Drawn”  worlc. — To  make  “drawn”  brushes  the  drawers  sit  at  a  table,, 
generally  divided  through  the  middle  by  a  high  longitudinal  partition, 
and  into  sections,  one  for  each  drawer,  by  transverse  partitions  about 
three  feet  apart.  (Fig.  2,  Plate  XXVI.)  Each  drawer  is  provided  with 
a  broad  apron,  spread  out  and  fastened  to  hooks  under  the  table  to 
catch  the  fibers  that  fall  from  the  hand  in  the  process  of  drawing. 
Each  section  is  provided  with  a  pair  of  trimming  shears  on  the  right 
hand,  and  in  the  center  a  small  vise  attached  to  the  edge  of  the  table 
to  hold  the  brush  stock.  A  spindle  driven  into  the  table  at  a  con¬ 
venient  place  on  the  right  hand  holds  a  spool  of  drawing  wire.  The 
back  of  the  brush  stock  is  turned  toward  the  right,  and  the  wire  is  led 
to  it  through  a  leather  loop  nailed  to  the  edge  of  the  table.  The  material 
to  be  “drawn  ”  is  piled  on  the  table  convenient  to  the  left  hand.  Half 
the  number  of  hairs  or  fibers  needed  to  fill  one  tuft  hole  are  gathered 
between  the  thumb  and  forefinger,  the  same  as  for  “pan”  work,  and 
passed  into  a  bight  of  the  wire  previously  pushed  through  the  stock  to> 
receive  them,  and  the  wire  then  pulled  smartly  back,  doubling  the  hairs 
and  drawing  them  into  the  hole.  This  work  is  often  done,  with  sur¬ 
prising  dexterity  and  rapidity,  by  small  boys  and  girls.  Eight  or  nine 
thousand  tufts  have  frequently  been  drawn  by  one  girl  or  boy  in  ten 
hours.  Several  machines  to  replace  hand  work  in  drawing  brushes 
have  been  patented  in  this  country  and  Europe,  but  they  are  not  in 
general  use,  and  a  description  of  them  here  would  serve  no  useful  pur¬ 
pose. 

TRIMMING. 

During  the  process  of  drawing  each  successive  row  of  tufts  is  trimmed 
as  soon  as  drawn  with  a  pair  of  gauged  shears  attached  to  the  opera¬ 
tor’s  bench.  (Fig.  2,  Plate  XXVI.  j  When  the  drawing  is  complete  any 
unevenness  in  the  length  of  the  tufts  is  finally  trimmed  off  with  hand 
shears,  or,  as  in  some  factories,  with  rotary  shears,  an  instrument  con¬ 
sisting  of  spiral  blades  attached  to  the  surface  of  a  rapidly  revolving- 
cylinder,  and  a  stationary  blade  with  its  edge  parallel  to  the  elements 
of  the  cylinder.  It  is  in  many  respects  like  an  inverted  lawn  mower. 
It  works  very  well  when  kept  sharp,  but  if  permitted  to  become  dull,, 
or  if  used  unskillfully,  is  liable  to  pull  out  some  of  the  fibers  instead  of 
cutting  them  off,  particularly  if  the  tufts  have  been  loosely  drawn. 

VENEERING. 

After  trimming  the  veneer  is  glued  on.  To  hold  it  in  close  contact 
with  the  body  until  the  glue  has  set,  the  brush  is  compressed  with. 


39 


screw-clamps  between  two  flat  pieces  of  wood,  one  against  the  veneer 
and  the  other  against  the  ends  of  the  tufts.  As  much  pressure  is  ap¬ 
plied  as  cau  be  used  without  breaking  down  the  fiber.  This  is  found 
to  be  sufficient  for  leather  stocks,  which  have  their  veneers  further  se¬ 
cured  by  stitching  around  the  edge  with  thread  or  wire.  Wood  veneers 
require  greater  pressure,  and  the  stock  is  left  wide  enough  to  permit 
the  application  of  screw-clamps  around  the  edge  outside  of  the  tufts. 
When  the  glue  has  set,  the  stock,  if  wood,  is  finished  by  trimming  off 
the  edge  so  as  to  leave  only  the  required  margin  outside  of  the  tufts 
and  by  polishing  the  veneer.  Veneers  are  frequently  made  by  gluing 
together  pieces  of  wood  of  different  colors  so  as  to  show  all  the  colors 
in  section  when  finished.  In  factories  provided  with  power,  much  of  the 
work  of  finishing  wooden  stocks  is  done  by  machinery;  the  edges  are 
trimmed  off  with  rotary  knives  and  the  veneer  is  ground  into  shape 
and  polished  on  sand  paper  wheels.  Leather  veneers  must  receive 
their  ornamental  finish  before  being  glued  on,  leaving  only  the  edge  to  be 
fiually  trimmed  off  and  polished.  The  embellishment  of  leather  veneers 
is  chiefly  limited  to  impressed  or  embossed  devices  and  figures  made 
with  dies  or  stamps.  Since  the  stocks  of  “set”  brushes  are  not  bored 
through,  there  is  no  necessity  for  a  veneer,  except  when  the  material  of 
the  stock  is  not  susceptible  of  a  sufficiently  elegant  finish.  After  the 
pitch,  in  which  the  tufts  were  set,  has  hardened,  the  back  of  the  stock  is 
finished  with  whatever  ornamentation  may  be  desired,  generally  by 
polishing  the  natural  wood,  painting,  varnishing,  &c. ;  sometimes  by 
veneering  and  inlaying  other  materials. 

Some  kinds  of  small  brushes  drawn  in  stocks  of  bone,  ivory,  &c.  (such 
as  tooth  and  nail  brushes),  are  not  veneered,  but  have  the  drawing  wire 
concealed  in  grooves  in  the  backs,  which  are  finally  filled  with  a  kind  of 
hard  insoluble  cement.  Such  brushes  are  also  made  by  a  process  called 
trepanning,  in  which  the  tuft  holes  are  arranged  in  straight  parallel 
rows,  and  are  not  bored  through,  but  terminate  at  their  intersection 
with  smaller  holes  at  right  angles,  drilled  in  the  edge  of  the  stock  and 
running  longitudinally  under  each  row  of  tuft  holes.  The  drawing  wire 
is  introduced  through  these  small  holes  and  loops  are  pulled  out  through 
the  tuft  holes  to  receive  the  fibers,  which  are  drawn  double  in  the  usual 
manner  by  pulling  back  the  wire.  When  the  drawing  is  complete  the 
wires  are  cut  off,  the  ends  made  fast,  and  the  holes  stopped  with  plugs 
of  bone,  ivory,  &c.,  usually  the  same  material  as  the  stock. 


GENERAL  REMARKS  ON  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  COMPOUND  BRUSHES. 

Vegetable  fibers  and  longhair  for  solid  brushes  are  cut  to  lengths  for 
drawing,  with  allowance  for  trimming  to  uniform  length.  Bristles  for 
solid  brushes,  if  procured  already  dressed,  have  only  to  be  combed  to 
separate  adherent  hairs  and  to  bring  them  into  parallelism,  and  then 
they  are  drawn  whole,  butts  first,  the  drawer  being  careful  to  place  them 
in  the  bight  of  the  drawing  wire,  so  that  there  will  be  no  unnecessary 
pwaste  from  the  butts  when  trimmed.  The  flags  are  then  cut  off  with 
she  trimming  shears  and  either  laid  aside  for  other  work  requiring  less 
0tiffuess  or  are  drawn  in  the  next  adjacent  row,  making  alternate  rows 
f  butts  and  flags.  If  the  brush  is  designed  to  be  extra  stiff,  only  su¬ 
perior  stock  is  used  and  only  the  butt-cuts.  If  raw  bristles  are  used 
they  must  be  dressed  by  processes  already  explained.  Most  bristles 
of  foreign  dressing  (except  the  French)  have  more  or  less  short  stock 
mixed  with  the  long  in  the  same  bundle,  the  longest  and  stiffest  being  on 
the  outside  as  “casings.”  Such  are  termed  “  taper  stock,”  in  contradis- 


40 


tinction  to  “draggings.”  Partially  prepared  stock  of  this  kiud  for  fine 
solid  brushes  should  be  washed  and  “dragged”  to  sizes,  and  white  stock 
washed  and  bleached.  Suitable  sizes  are  then  selected  from  the  drag¬ 
gings  to  make  the  quality  of  brush  desired,  carefully  combed,  cut,  and 
drawn  as  described. 

Penetrating  brushes,  if  of  vegetable  fibers,  or  mixtures  of  fiber  and 
hair,  are  drawn  from  cut  stock  of  unequal  lengths,  or,  what  is  equivalent, 
from  cuts  of  equal  lengths,  the  fibers  in  the  tufts  being  left,  purposely, 
uneven  at  the  ends,  so  that  all  are  not  doubled  exactly  in  the  middle. 
In  either  case  the  trimming  must  clip  only  the  fibers  projecting  beyond 
the  maximum  length  prescribed.  Bristle  brushes  of  this  character  are 
drawn  from  what  is  termed  a  “  shake-up”  ;  that  is,  from  stock  selected 
from  several  qualities,  cut  to  the  desired  lengths,  and  then  tnrown  into  a 
box  where  it  is  thoroughly  “  shaken  up”  and  mixed  together.  The  brush 
is  drawn  from  the  mixture,  and  is  trimmed  and  finished  the  same  as 
those  from  other  material. 

All  bristles,  whether  foreign  or  domestic,  for  fine  penetrating  brushes, 
if  not  already  carefully  dressed  when  procured,  should  also  be  washed 
and  dragged  before  cutting  up.  If  not  washed,  the  brush  will  always 
appear  to  be  full  of  dust  and  will  soil  whatever  it  is  used  upon.  If  not. 
dragged,  much  of  the  solid  portions  of  the  long  bristles  will  be  sacri¬ 
ficed  in  order  to  cut  off  the  flags  of  the  shorter.  The  flags  must  always 
be  removed  for  drawn  work  (as  the  presence  of  only  a  few  in  a  brush 
perceptibly  softens  it),  and  this  can  only  be  done  without  waste  by  cut¬ 
ting  up  the  dragged  sizes  separately.  After  the  flags  have  been  cut  off, 
the  remainder  is  cut  into  proper  lengths,  and  a  suitable  mixture  of 
selected  cuttings  is  shaken  together  for  the  variety  and  quality  of  brush 
desired.  It  is,  however,  the  custom  with  certain  brush-makers,  espe¬ 
cially  when  self-interest  is  not  promoted  by  economy  of  material,  to  cut 
up  taper  stock  (like  okatkas)  after  simply  combing  and  “flagging 
up,”  the  object  of  the  latter  operation  being  to  even  up  the  flags  of  the 
whole  bundle,  leaving  the  unevenness  at  the  root  ends,  so  that  the 
flags  of  the  long  and  short  bristles  may  be  cut  off  in  one  operation 
without  unnecessarily  shortening  the  long  ones.  By  this  process  the 
best  portions  of  all  lengths  are  theoretically  preserved.  Bristles  to  be 
cut  in  this  way  are  first  combed  in  small  handfuls  to  separate  any  that 
have  become  adherent,  and  to  arrange  them  all  parallel  to  each  other, 
and  then,  being  held  loosely  in  the  hand,  the  flags  are  struck  gently 
against  a  smooth  surface  (usually  a  piece  of  board  fixed  vertically  to 
the  front  of  the  bench  near  the  comb),  the  combing  and  striking  being 
repeated  alternately  until  the  flags  of  all  the  bristles,  long  and  short,  are 
supposed  to  have  been  struck  up  even  with  the  soft  end  of  the  bundle. 
Though  the  success  of  the  operation  is  largely  dependent  upon  the  skill, 
with  which  it  is  performed,  yet  the  theoretical  object  is  never  practically 
attained;  either  some  flags  of  short  bristles  will  not  be  cut  off,  or  some 
butt-cuts  will  be  too  short  for  use  and  will  be  wasted.  By  this  method 
there  is  a  waste  of  12  to  20  per  cent,  of  weight  in  ordinary  Russian 
stock  long  enough  for  two  cuts  for  tufts  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  high. 
By  previously  dragging  the  stock  this  waste  will  be  considerably  re¬ 
duced  and  the  finished  brush  improved. 

It  should  be  further  remarked  that  for  fine  brushes,  such  as  those 
used  about  the  person,  the  root  bulbs  should  be  removed  before  cutting 
up,  either  by  clipping  with  shears  or  by  washing  in  bundles,  with  soap, 
on  a  flat  stone.  The  former  is  preferable  when  the  length  of  the  stock 
will  admit  of  it.  Plate  XXVIII  represents  the  draggings  from  a  bundle 
of  “superior”  7-inch  okatkas,  weighing  15.7  ounces.  The  lengths  and 


41 


weights  of  the  different  sizes  are  marked  on  tags  attached  to  each  bun¬ 
dle,  viz: 


»  7-inch.  )  (  8  —  0  1  ( 
1  If  oz.  (  \  3f  oz.  )  { 

7  —  0  (  (  6  —  0  \  (5  —  0  1  f  4  —  0  (  (3  —  0  1 

4£  oz.  1  1  3  oz.  (  )  1  oz.  (  j  1  oz.  i  )  f  oz.  | 

(  2  —  0 
\  %  oz. 

)  (  1  —  0  )  (  No.  1.  (  *  No.  2.  ( 

(  )  i  oz.  1  \  l  oz.  f  \  -fo  oz.  j 

These  samples  were 

prepared  and  presented  by  J.  G.  McMurray  & 

Co.,  of  Lansingburgh,  N.  Y. 

The  foregoing  is  a  description  of  the  processes  of  tnanufacture  of  the 
leading  types  of  compound  brushes,  both  “drawn”  and  “set,”  repre¬ 
sented  in  the  illustrated  catalogues  of  the  largest  manufacturers.  Many 
other  methods  are  employed,  however,  mostly  patented,  and  aiming  to 
cheapen  the  brush  rather  than  to  improve  it.  By  one  of  the  most  im¬ 
portant  of  these  processes  is  made  a  very  serviceable  and  showy  brash 
without  the  expense  of  boring  and  drawing.  The  stock  is  composed  of 
vulcanized  caoutchouc,  in  which  the  ends  of  the  tufts  are  imbedded 
while  it  is  in  a  plastic  or  semi-fluid  state.  It  is  formed  in  a  mold,  one 
side  of  which  is  engraved  with  ornamental  devices  for  the  back,  and 
the  other  perforated  with  holes  into  which  the  tufts  are  inserted  and 
left  projecting  into  the  interior  of  the  mold  to  the  depth  it  is  desired 
to  have  them  set  in  the  stock.  This  material  receives  and  retains  sharp 
impressions  from  molds  engraved  with  the  finest  lines  and  most  in¬ 
tricate  patterns,  and  is,  in  this  way,  susceptible  of  highly  ornamental 
finish. 

There  is  another  form  of  brush  in  quite  common  use  which  cannot  be 
properly  classed  with  “set”  or  “drawn”  work.  This  is  a  brush  used 
for  cleaning  bottles,  lamp  chimneys,  &c.,  and,  in  the  military  service, 
for  wiping  out  the  bores  of  small-arms.  It  is  made,  by  introducing 
bristles,  cut  to  a  uniform  length,  between  two  parallel  wires  and  twist¬ 
ing  these  together  until  the  bristles  radiate  spirally  and  form  a  nearly 
cylindrical  brush.  The  bristles  are  arranged  at  right  angles  to  the 
wires  and  are  held  by  the  middle.  The  bottle-brush  sometimes  differs 
from  the  simplest  form  of  this  brush  by  having  the  twisted  wires  which 
hold  the  bristles  doubled  over  tire  end  of  a  stick  for  a  handle. 

All  the  principal  varieties  of  compound  brushes,  both  “drawn”  and 
“set,”  are  represented  in  Plates  XXIX,  XXX,  XXXI. 

Most  of  the  illustrations  have  been  taken  from  the  catalogues  of  John 
L.  Whiting  &  Son,  of  Boston  (132  Oliver  street),  Miles  Brothers  &  Co,, 
of  New  York  (102  Fulton  street),  and  Ilsley,  Doubleday  &  Co.,  of  New 
York  (243  Pearl  street). 

HORSE-BRUSHES. 

Resolution  No.  6,  Ordnance  Memoranda  No.  18,  page  53,  reads  as 
follows  : 

Horse-brush. — To  have  one  body  of  stout  leather,  with  Russia  bristles,  one  strap 
for  hand. 

The  stitching  around  the  edge  of  body  to  he  with  brass  wire.  The  size  to  be  that 
-of  sample  submitted. 

Figure  9,  Plate  III  (same  Memoranda)  gives  the  dimensions  of  the 
sample  above  referred  to  as  follows:  Length,  8.5  inches;  width,  4.6 
inches;  thickness  of  back,  .45  of  an  inch  ;  length  of  tufts,  .80  of  au  inch. 

Beyond  the  specified  length  and  breadth  of  the  “body”  the  drawing 
alone  suggests  its  shape,  in  which  it  appears  to  be  oval  or  nearly 


42 


elliptical.  There  is  no  specification,  however,  relative  to  the  manner 
of  building  up  the  body,  to  the  number,  size,  and  arrangement  of  the 
tufts,  to  the  grade  of  Bussia  bristles  to  be  used,  nor  to  the  manner  of 
drawing,  as  to  whether  it  should  be  solid  or  penetratiug,  all  of  which 
are  important  points  seriously  affecting  the  quality  of  the  brush.  Most 
horse-brushes  found  in  the  trade,  whether  drawn  in  wood  or  leather, 
are  oval  like  the  cavalry  pattern.  Another  form  with  parallel  sides 
and  semicircular  ends  is,  however,  quite  common  ;  and  some  of  these 
have  been  supplied  to  certain  departments  of  the  military  service,  and 
have  been  preferred  by  some  to  the  adopted  pattern.  Whether  its 
peculiar  shape  is  considered  one  of  its  merits,  or  whether  it  is  preferred 
for  other  qualities,  is  not  definitely  known.  The  fact,  however,  that 
the  oval  is  the  prevailing  shape  used  in  the  large  city  stables  where 
great  numbers  of  horses  are  kept,  is  sufficient  evidence  that  there  is 
nothing  in  the  shape  to  especially  recommend  it.  A  few  examined 
specimens  (unserviceable  and  nearly  worn  out)  were  composed  of  gray 
okatka  bristles,  with  tufts  about  the  same  size  and  at  the  same  distance 
apart  as  the  cavalry  pattern,  but  only  three-quarters  of  an  inch  high. 
The  stock  was  perhaps  a  little  better  than  that  supplied  by  the  Ord¬ 
nance  Department  for  recent  manufactures  of  the  standard  pattern,  and 
this  together  with  the  reduction  in  the  length  of  the  tufts  no  doubt 
gave  the  brush  a  much  stiffer  feeling  and  a  real  superiority. 

Leather  bodies  for  horse-brushes  manufactured  for  the  trade  are 
almost  always  composed  of  leather  shavings  pressed  together  with  glue 
or  rye  paste  into  slabs  to  to  f  of  an  inch  thick,  and  large  enough  to 
make  three  large-sized  bodies.  This  material,  made  in  varying  thick¬ 
nesses,  and  used  for  various  purposes,  is  prepared  in  large  quantities  all 
over  the  country,  in  Boston,  Lynn,  Buffalo,  Cleveland,  Chicago,  &c. 
A  kind  very  generally  preferred  for  horse-brushes  is  made  by  Joseph 
Gardner,  Hudson  street,  Buffalo.  The  bodies  are  cut  out  in  a  stamp 
ing  press,  bored  and  drawn  in  the  usual  manner,  and  veneered  with 
thin  collar  leather  glued  on  and  machine-stitched  around  the  edge 
with  stout  waxed  thread.  They  are  said  to  be  durable  and  to  give 
satisfaction.  The  material  is  cheaper  than  any  suitable  leather  in 
whole  sides  or  scrap  large  enough  for  complete  shapes  for  bodies,  and 
if  found  suitable  for  the  military  service  the  substitution  of  it  for  the 
more  expensive  “stout  leather”  recommended  might  furnish  a  means  of 
turning  to  profitable  account  a  large  amount  of  small  scrap  otherwise 
almost  valueless.  There  is,  however,  always  available  at  the  arsenals 
where  leather  is  used  in  the  manufactures,  a  large  quantity  of  scrap  of 
better  quality  than  shavings,  quite  as  serviceable  for  the  purpose  as 
stout  leather  and  much  cheaper.  Perhaps  sufficient  of  this  latter  will 
be  found  to  make  a  resort  to  pressed  shavings  unnecessary.  Of  course 
it  will  cost  more  for  labor  to  build  up  the  body  of  thin  layers  to  the  re¬ 
quired  thickness,  but  this  increase,  it  is  believed,  will  be  more  than 
compensated  by  the  less  cost  of  the  material.  Bodies  of  “  stout  leather  ” 
.45  of  an  inch  thick,  must  be  composed  of  at  least  three  thicknesses, 
for  the  portion  in  wliich  the  bristles  are  drawn  should  be  at  least  .35 
of  an  inch  thick  to  give  the  necessary  support  to  the  bristles,  and  must 
necessarily  be  composed  of  two  thicknesses.  The  veneer,  always  nec¬ 
essary ,  will  form  the  third.  To  make  the  best  brush-body  possible,  un¬ 
der  the  specification,  without  regard  to  cost,  two  thicknesses  of  the 
best  quality  of  sole  leather,  split  to  a  uniform  thickness  of  .175  of  an  inch, 
should  be  used  for  the  body,  and  one  thickness,  reduced  to  .1  of  an  inch., 
for  the  outside  piece  or  veneer. 

An  examination  of  several  unserviceable  horse-brushes,  manufactur  ed 


43 


aiul  issued  to  the  cavalry  since  the  pattern  of  1874  was  adopted,  shows 
that  the  number  of  tufts  varies,  the  greatest  number  found  in  one  brush 
being  476.  The  holes  are  about  .00  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  with  a  space 
of  about  .15  of  an  inch  between.  The  sample  brush  referred  to  in  the 
specification  is  not  at  hand  for  examination,  and  the  number  and  size 
of  the  holes  in  it  are  not  known.  It  is  probable  that  these  details  have 
never  entered  into  the  articles  of  agreement  with  manufacturers,  who, 
in  the  absence  of  specific  requirement,  may  have  used  their  discretion 
to  promote  selfish  interests,  which  often  lie  in  the  direction  of  smaller 
holes,  fewer  tufts,  and  more  brushes,  especially  since  the  Government 
has  habitually  supplied  all  material  and  paid  liberally  for  the  making. 

The  arrangement  of  the  tufts  in  all  brushes,  pattern  of  1874,  manu 
factored  for  the  military  service  has,  as  far  as  known,  been  almost  uni¬ 
versally  that  of  parallel  rows  conforming  to  the  shape  of  the  body,  and 
as  nearly  in  the  quincunx  order  as  possible  on  curved  lines. 

Oval  brushes  are,  however,  frequently  seen  with  tufts  arranged  in 
straight  lines  crossing  each  other  at  various  angles,  and  generally  bor¬ 
dered  with  one  or  more  continuous  rows  to  give  the  margin  of  the  brush 
a  more  even  appearance.  In  one  (patented)  arrangement  the  tufts  are 
drawn  in  a  rectangular  pattern,  with  those  in  each  pair  of  adjacent  rows 
inclined  towards  each  other  for  mutual  support.  These,  especially  the 
latter,  are  not  satisfactory,  open  spaces  being  left  between  the  tufts  for 
the  accumulation  of  dirt,  and  the  brushes  being  less  durable  than  those 
in  which  the  tufts  mutually  support  each  other  on  all  sides.  The  same 
objection  may  also  be  properly  made  to  brushes  with  tufts  less  than  .1 
of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  .15  of  an  inch  apart,  especially  when  weak 
bristles  are  used  and  the  tufts  are  .8  of  an  inch  high.  With  any  kind 
of  stock  the  tufts  should  be  larger  and  nearer  together  than  in  those 
brushes  hitherto  made  for  the  cavalry,  and  if  the  stock  is  weak  they 
should  be  shorter.  The  height  of  the  tufts  in  the  adopted  pattern  being 
fixed  at  .8  of  an  inch,  the  use  of  an  excellent  quality  of  bristles  becomes 
a  necessity  if  the  specification  in  this  particular  is  followed ;  for  with 
the  best  imported  stock  horse-brushes  are  rarely  made  with  tufts  more 
than  one  inch  high.  The  number  of  tufts  composing  the  brush  will  of 
course  be  limited  by  its  size.  For  an  oval  brush  8.5  inches  long  and  4.6 
inches  wide  it  is  believed  there  should  not  be  less  than  485  or  500.  They 
should  be  at  least  .13  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  the  spaces  between 
them  should  not  much  exceed  that  measurement. 

Both  solid  and  penetrating  brushes  are  found  in  the  market,  but 
fewer  of  the  former  than  of  the  latter.  Penetrating  brushes  are  gener¬ 
ally  preferred,  though  the  solid  are  said  to  be  more  durable. 

The  following  are  memorandum  notes  of  opinions,  &c.,  gathered  from 
a  few  prominent  manufacturers:  Hiram  Averill,  of  Boston,  who  makes 
a  grade  of  horse-brush  styled  “454,”  oval  pattern,  army  size,  says  it  is  the 
shape  universally  approved  in  the  large  city  stables;  that  it  wears  better 
than  those  with  wide  semi-circular  ends;  that  the  wear  upon  the  curry¬ 
comb  does  not  depend  so  much  upon  the  construction  of  the  brush  as 
upon  the  quality  of  the  material  in  it  and  the  manner  of  using  it;  that  at 
the  Metropolitan  street-car  stables  the  hostlers  all  wear  out  the  “leather- 
backed”  horse-brush  in  the  middle  instead  of  at  the  ends,  as  do  most 
cavalrymen.  He  says  the  solid  brush  costs  less  to  draw  than  the  pene¬ 
trating;  is  not  so  “keen”  when  new,  but  more  durable;  thinks  bristles 
show  more  for  their  quality  when  drawn  solid,  butts  and  dags  in  alter¬ 
nate  rows;  that  the  “shake-up”  is  more  economical,  especially  when 
the  bristles  contain  the  usual  proportion  of  extra  long  (say  10  per  cent.) 
which  furnish  three  cuts.  He  also  says  the  cost  of  the  brush  would  be 


44 


greatly  increased  if  made  of  engined  stock,  because  the  “soft  hair”  or 
residue,  after  the  extraction  of  the  “  stiff,”  is  only  equal  to  a  very  low 
grade  of  stock.  A  grade  of  horse-brush  made  by  him  of  superior  en¬ 
gined  okatka  stock  sells  in  the  market  for  $36  per  dozen  and  upwards. 

John  L.  Whiting  &  Son,  of  Boston,  though  they  do  not  make  horse- 
brushes  a  specialty,  concur  in  the  foregoiug  opinions.  Austin  &  Fel¬ 
lows,  of  Boston,  also  concur  in  essential  points.  The  latter  make  a 
brush  of  butt  cuts  of  6-inch  okatkas,  drawn  from  a  “shake-up”  instead 
of  whole,  trimmed,  however,  short  enough  to  leave  it  but  slightly  pene¬ 
trating.  They  make  two  grades,  one  with  452  tufts  and  the  other  364, 
“Government  size,”  tufts  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  high,  butt  cuts  only 
used  in  both;  price  about  $15.  The  flags  are  used  for  lower  grades  of 
brushes.  J.  F.  Herbert,  of  New  York,  makes  a  solid  brush  with  385 
tufts,  of  an  inch  high,  using,  he  says,  only  ounces  of  5.^-inch  Sibe¬ 
rian  okatkas  in  each.  The  butts  and  flags  are  drawn  in  alternate  rows, 
the  last,  or  outside  row,  being  of  butt  cuts.  He  admits  that  yellow 
Turkish  and  Russian  bristles  are  frequently  adulterated  with  “paint 
stubs”  (bristles  from  worn-out  paint  brushes)  by  some  manufacturers, 
and  that  the  Iraud  is  difficult  to  detect.  Such  material  is  of  very  inferior 
quality  for  horse-brushes,  owing  to  the  use  of  soda  to  remove  the  dried 
and  indurated  paint. 

Miles  Brothers,  of  New  York,  express  the  opinion  that  a  penetrating 
horse  brush  is  better  for  cleaning,  but  not  so  durable;  that  the  length 
of  stock  procured  for  horse- brushes  and  the  number  of  cuts  to  be  taken 
from  it  should  depend  upon  the  kind  of  stock  and  the  character  of  the 
brush  to  be  made.  They  recommend  the  “shake-up”  for  stock  cut  into 
two  or  more  lengths.  They  say  the  height  of  the  tufts  should  be  de¬ 
termined  by  their  size,  proximity,  and  the  stiffness  of  the  stock;  that 
in  proportion  as  the  bristles  are  weak  the  tufts  should  be  short. 

SELECTION  OF  STOCK. 

Opinions  expressed  by  various  brush-makers  and  dealers  in  bristles 
differ  widely  as  to  the  percentage  of  “  shoe-hair”  that  ought  to  be  found 
in  suitable  stock  for  horse-brushes,  some  putting  it  as  low  as  12  per 
cent,  and  others  as  high  as  50  per  cent.,  a  difference  difficult  to  recon¬ 
cile.  Such  estimates  cannot  be  based  upon  experience,  for  any  stock 
yielding  no  more  than  12  per  cent,  of  stiff  hair,  with  a  No.  1  engine, 
can  only  make  a  brush  too  soft  to  be  useful  in  the  military  service, 
while  no  stock  among  all  the  samples  of  “best  okatkas”  furnished  to 
Watervliet  arsenal  during  the  past  two  years  has  been  found  stiff 
enough  to  yield  50  per  cent.,  unless  the  specimens  were  taken  wholly 
from  the  casings.  The  actual  yield  of  “shoe-hair”  from  these  okatka 
specimens  has  ranged  from  9  to  35  per  cent.  Since  okatkas  are  al¬ 
most  always  cased,  a  yield  of  35  per  cent,  from  the  center  of  the  bun¬ 
dle  would  doubtless  insure  a  good  and  economical  stock  for  horse- 
brushes,  unless  the  residue  should  be  very  soft,  short,  and  woolly. 
Horse-brush  stock  should  be  selected,  as  a  rule,  long  enough  and  stiff 
enough  for  two  cuts  at  least,  unless  the  flags  can  be  disposed  of  econom¬ 
ically,  when  only  butt  cuts  are  used.  Long  bristles  are  not  necessarily 
proportionately  stiff';  therefore  they  should  be  selected  with  reference 
to  both  length  and  stiffness. 

Brush  makers  and  those  accustomed  to  handling  bristles  are  able  to 
determine  their  quality  by  a  casual  examination  without  the  aid  of 
weighing  scales,  engines,  the  dragging  process,  and  the  size-stick.  By 
parting  the  bundles  at  the  root  euds  so  as  to  expose  the  interior,  the 


quality  of  that  portion,  in  comparison  with  the  casings,  can  he  readily 
determined.  If  they  have  been  “flagged  up”  (or  “pricked  up,”  as  some 
say),  to  make  the  bundles  appear  to  have  less  “  taper,”  the  roots  of  the 
short  bristles  will  be  seen  scattered  through  the  bundle  sometimes  as 
far  up  as  the  ligature.  If  the  bundles,  when  not  “  flagged  up,”  be  parted 
at  the  soft  ends  and  a  portion  bent  over  with  the  hand  grasping  the  ex¬ 
tremities  of  the  flags,  the  short  bristles  below  the  hand  not  confined 
between  longer  ones  will  remain  straight.  In  this  way  an  experienced 
eye  and  an  educated  sense  of  touch  are  able  to  very  accurately  esti¬ 
mate  the  proportion  of  stout  bristles  in  the  bundle,  and  to  determine 
the  average  quality  of  the  whole. 

The  following  hints  relative  to  the  selection  of  bristles  may  be  of 
some  service  to  such  as  have  not  given  to  the  subject  previous  study  or 
attention. 

First,  all  things  considered,  (5  or  6J  inch  okatka  is  the  most  suitable 
stock  for  Government  use  in  the  fabrication  of  horse  brushes.  Secondly, 
they  should  not  be  “cased,”  that  is,  they  should  contain  but  a  small 
percentage  of  short  and  weak  hair,  and  no  “wool.”  The  interior  of  the 
bundles  should  furnish  30  to  35  per  cent,  of  coarse  hair,  with  a  No.  1 
engine,  and  a  residue  stiff  enough  for  use  with  the  better  quality  with¬ 
out  greatly  softening  the  brush.  At  least  90  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
bundle  should  be  above  3 — 0,  or  4£  inches. 

Finally,  care  should  be  taken  to  select  dry  stock.  Bristles  stored  in 
damp  places  absorb  moisture,  which  adds  considerably  to  their  weight. 
Nine  ounces  of  dry  stock  per  1,000  tufts  of  standard  size  and  length  is 
a  liberal  estimate.  The  unavoidable  waste  in  cutting  up  such  stock 
amounts  to  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  weight. 

Simple  Brushes. 

WHITEWASH  BRUSHES. 

The  principal  varieties  of  this  class  are  whitewashes’,  calci  miners’, 
painters,’  varnish ers?,  grainers’  and  artists’  tools. 

Whitewash  brushes  are  found  in  the  market  in  great  variety  as  to 
material,  size,  mode  of  manufacture,  and  price.  As  to  material,  the 
variations  run  through  all  the  grades  and  mixtures  of  bristles,  from 
the  best  white  okatkas  down  to  the  poorest  American  stock  mixed  with 
tampico.  The  principal  variations  in  size  are  in  the  length  of  the  head, 
usually  between  GJ  and  9  inches,  and  in  the  length  of  the  bristles, 
ranging  from  about  24  inches  to  7  inches.  Stock  for  whitewash  brushes, 
after  being  carefully  combed,  dragged,  and  mixed  for  the  grade  of  brush, 
wanted,  is  accurately  weighed  out  in  a  brush-maker’s  scales;  a  beam- 
balance  of  the  usual  form,  except  that  one  scale-pan  is  replaced  by  a 
hook-shaped  receptacle  for  the  bristles.  (Fig.  5,  Plate  XXVII.)  If 
the  brush  is  to  have  a  casing,  that  portion  is  weighed  out  separately, 
and  added  to  the  stock  designed  for  the  center,  in  such  a  manner  that 
when  the  brush  is  completed  the  casing  shall  be  evenly  distributed  over 
the  whole  exterior,  an  operation  requiring  great  dexterity  in  order  to 
produce  a  satisfactory  result.  For  a  leather-bound  brush  the  workman 
attaches  one  end  ot  the  leather  band,  with  a  tack,  to  the  end  of  the 
head  near  the  lower  edge,  and  then  spreads  the  butts  of  the  bristles, 
with  the  casing  outside,  along  the  lower  margin  of  the  head,  stretching 
the  leather  band  over  them  and  putting  in  an  occasional  tack,  until  the 
bristles  have  been  distributed  evenly  around  the  head,  all  parallel  to 
each  other  and  perpendicular  to  the  head.  A  straight-edge  is  applied 


46 


to  the  butts  to  even  them  and  push  them  all  down  flush  with  the  edge 
of  the  leather  baud.  When  the  arrangement  is  satisfactory,  a  sufficient 
number  of  nails  are  driven  through  the  band  and  bristles  to  secure  the 
whole  firmly  to  the  head.  (Figs.  2,  4,  5,  and  6,  Plate  XXXII,  represent 
whitewash  brushes  of  this  kind.)  A  modification  of  this  construction, 
patented  by  John  L.  Whiting  &  Son,  is  represented  in  Fig.  3,  Plate 
XXXII.  A  wide  saw-kerf  is  made  in  the  lower  side  of  the  head,  into 
which  a  piece  of  plate  iron  is  introduced  to  clinch  the  nails  upon.  The 
following  quotation  is  from  the  patentees’  u Trade  Price  List”: 

These  brushes  possess  two  entirely  new  features,  both  practically  useful,  which  are 
applied  to  the  regular  leather-bound  whitewash  brushes.  The  open  space  in  the 
block  or  head  of  the  brushes  serves  as  a  temporary  receptacle  for  the  whitewash  or 
other  liquid,  and  therefore  renders  the  brush  less  likely  to  leak  or  drip  when  being 
used;  while,  upon  dipping  the  brush,  or  reversing  its  position,  the  liquid  will  readily 
run  out.  The  other  original  feature  adds  greatly  to  the  strength  of  the  brush ;  the 
nails,  being  clinched  on  the  inside,  can  never  pull  out  or  start.  These  brushes  are  in 
every  respect  first  class,  in  addition  to  the  above  peculiarities. 

Another  method  of  construction  is  shown  in  Fig.  1,  Plate  XXXII. 
A  metal  band  is  substituted  for  leather,  with  one-third  of  its  width  em¬ 
bracing  the  head  aud  two-thirds  the  bristles.  A  tenon  on  the  lower  side 
of  the  head,  about  one-third  its  thickness,  projects  a  little  below  the 
band.  The  bristles  are  arranged  in  a  layer  of  uniform  thickness  around 
the  tenon,  with  the  butts  resting  against  a  shoulder  under  the  band. 
A  row  of  nails  through  the  lower  edge  of  the  band  and  the  bristles 
into  the  tenon  holds  the  bristles,  while  an  upper  row  of  nails  through 
the  band  into  the  head  secures  the  whole  together.  Stock  for  this 
brush  is  accurately  weighed  out  as  for  the  foregoing,  including  casing, 
if  desired,  but  instead  of  being  arranged  under  the  band  as  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  method,  it  is  formed  into  the  shape  of  the  brush  (only  sufficiently 
thinner  to  allow  for  the  thickness  of  the  tenon)  and  moistened  with  a  kind 
of  sizing  made  of  flaxseed,  to  facilitate  handling  by  causing  the  bristles 
to  adhere  to  each  other.  After  the  sizing  has  dried,  the  brush  is  clamped 
in  a  kind  of  wooden  vise  with  broad  jaws  hollowed  out  to  receive  it. 
The  end  to  be  attached  to  the  head,  with  about  half  the  length  of  the 
biush,  projects  from  the  vise.  The  roots  of  the  bristles  are  smeared 
with  cement  to  nearly  the  depth  covered  by  the  band,  when  the  brush 
is  finished.  The  band  is  then  passed  over  the  brush  and  down  to  the 
vise.  The  bristles  are  parted  through  the  middle  with  a  long  knife, 
and  the  tenon  of  the  brush-head,  also  dipped  in  cement,  is  inserted. 
The  band  is  finalty  pushed  back  to  its  place  and  securely  nailed.  In 
some  factories  the  tenon  is  separate  from  the  head,  and  is  introduced 
as  a  wedge  to  which  the  band  and  the  bristles  are  nailed  before  the 
head  is  attached.  In  others  the  tenon  is  replaced  by  a  tongue  glued 
and  nailed  into  a  groove  in  the  head,  but  with  the  grain  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  prevent  splitting.  The  handles  of  whitewash  brushes  are 
usually  detachable  at  will,  beiug  loosely  inserted  iu  holes  bored  in  the 
head  for  the  purpose.  The  following  hint  relative  to  the  abuse  of  white¬ 
wash  brushes  may  be  of  some  value : 

v  Never  put  a  brush  in  newly-slaked  lime,  as  it  will  surely  destroy  the  bristles.  We 
have  seen  the  best  all-bristle  brushes  spoiled  by  being  put  into  fresh-slaked  lime, 
through  carelessness  or  ignorance  of  the  consumer,  aud  then  pronounced  as  being 
made  of  inferior  stock  or  not  all  bristles.* 

CALCIMINE  BRUSHES, 

Calcimine  brushes  differ  from  whitewash  brushes  iu  generally  having 
a  permanent  handle  continuous  with  the  head,  and  iu  having  wider 

*  Miles  Bro.s’  illustrated  Price  List. 


47 


limits  of  variation  in  size.  The  widths  vary  from  about  3  inches  to 
inches,  the  smaller  ones  being  frequently  used  for  wall-paint  brushes.- 
They  are  generally  bound  with  brass  instead  of  leather,  and  are  more 
neatly  finished  in  other  respects.  The  methods  of  attachment  to  the 
handle  are  the  same  as  in  the  metal- bound  whitewash  brush.  The  grain 
of  the  wood  composing  the  handle  is  parallel  to  the  bristles,  but  in  wide 
brnshes  the  portions  each  side  of  the  handle  are  doweled  and  glued  on 
with  the  grain  running  in  the  opposite  direction  to  prevent  splitting. 
Calcimine  heads  bored  for  handles  like  whitewash  heads  are  made  for 
such  as  prefer  them.  The  stock  required  for  these  brushes  is  about  the 
same  in  quality  as  that  used  for  best  whitewash  brushes,  and  the  cost 
for  corresponding  sizes  is  about  the  same.  (Plate  XXXIII.) 

PAINT  AND  VARNISH  BRUSHES. 

In  no  particular  ought  the  painter  or  varnisher  who  wishes  to  insure  superiority  in 
the  execution  of  his  work  to  be  more  circumspect  than  in  the  choice  of  his  brushes 
and  pencils. 

Brushes  are  either  round  or  flat,  and  are  of  various  sizes.  The  rouud  ones  range 
from  a  quarter  of  an  inch  to  ‘if  inches  in  diameter.  For  some  particular  purposes 
they  even  exceed  this  latter  size.  The  larger  ones  are  made  use  of  in  laying  on  the 
first  coat  of  paint,  or  priming,  as  it  is  called,  and  in  painting  over  large  surfaces  which 
require  considerable  quantities  of  color.  The  smaller  brushes  are  for  parts  to  which, 
from  their  size  or  situation,  the  large  ones  cannot  he  applied. 

Brnshes  of  a  flat  form  are  usually  termed  varnishing  brushes,  being  chiefly  used  for 
that  purpose ;  but  they  are  likewise  employed  in  drawing  lines,  veining,  and  imita¬ 
tions  of  variegated  woods. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Mechanics’  Magazine  makes  an  objection  to 
the  use  of  round  brushes  which  must  be  allowed  to  have  considerable 
weight.  Being  round,  he  says  : 

They  are  by  no  means  well  adapted,  in  that  shape,  for  laying  on  a  flat  surface ;  the 
consequence  is  that  painters  invariably  use  their  brushes  but  one  way,  for  the  very 
purpose  of  wearing  them  flat,  which  goes  to  prove  the  necessity  of  an  alteration  in 
their  shape.  *  *  *  Brushes  are  almost  always  made  of  hogs’ bristles.  Sometimes 

they  are  of  badgers’  or  goats’  hair,  especially  when  required  for  varnishing  flue  work 
with  a  thin  varnish.  In  choosing  them,  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  hairs  are 
strong,  and  next,  that  they  are  close  together,  and  fast  bound  with  the  threads  that 
lie  round  them  in  the  stocks.  If  the  hairs  are  weak  the  color  will  never  lie  in  a  good 
body;  if  they  are  not  close  together,  they  will  spread  and  divide  unequally  when 
used,  and  consequently  cannot  work  well.  But  the  worst  fault  of  all  is  in  their  not 
being  fast  bound  in  the  stocks  ;  for,  in  that  case  some  will  come  out  while  you  are 
workiug,  and  the  appearance  of  the  work  will  be  strangely  disfigured  by  loose  hairs 
being  seeD  buried  in  the  coloring  when  dry.  Even  when  as  tightly  bound  together 
as  possible  the  hairs  often  get  loose,  from  the  practice  so  common  with  painters,  of 
keeping  their  brushes  in  water  when  out  of  use,  by  which  the  strings  that  bind  them, 
though  usually  glued  over,  soon  become  rotten.  To  prevent  brushes  from  being  dam¬ 
aged  in  this  way,  get  them  bound  in  the  usual  way,  but  not  glued  over,  aud  then 
work  in  rosin  and  grease,  which  will  resist  the  water  and  keep  the  brush  for  a  long 
time  tight  and  sound.  When,  by  long  use,  the  hairs  of  a  good  brush  begin  to  work 
loose,  drive  a  few  thin  wedges  of  wood  inside  the  thread  with  which  they  are  bound 
round,  and  this  will  render  the  whole  fast  again.* 

^The  larger  sizes  of  paint  and  varnish  brushes,  to  be  of  superior  qual¬ 
ity,  should  be  composed  of  long,  stiff,  well-dressed  bristles  (preferably 
white),  with  soft,  clean  flags  and  due  proportion  of  u  casings,”  “  drag¬ 
gings,”  aud  u taper.”  The  casings  (which  are  also  dragged  sizes,  and 
generally  white,  while  the  interior  is  of  the  gray,  yellow  or  black)  should 
be  of  nearly  the  same  length  for  the  same  brush,  and  should  be  care¬ 
fully  arranged  to  form  an  envelope  of  uniform  thickness  around  it.  The 
natural  curve  or  bend  of  the  hair  should  be  toward  the  center  to  pre¬ 
vent  excessive  splay  of  the  brush  when  in  use.  The  draggiugs  and 

*‘*!Tlic  Painters,’  Gilders’,  an  Varnishers’  Companion.” 


48 


taper  which  form  the  interior  must  be  skillfully  proportioned  and  thor¬ 
oughly  mixed  so  that  the  brush  shall  have  a  sufficient  and  uniform  taper 
without  “  breaks,”  and,  when  laid  on  the  work,  shall  present  as  near  a 
“  chisel-edge”  as  possible. 

PREPARATION  OF  STOCK,  AND  MANUFACTURE  OF  PAINT  AND  VARNISH  BRUSHES. 


The  preparation  of  paint-stock  from  either  raw  or  dressed  material 
does  not  differ  from  the  preparation  of  stock  for  other  brushes,  except 
that  greater  care  is  exercised  to  have  it  clean  and  well  assorted  as  to 
size,  color,  and  quality,  and  to  have  the  white  well  bleached.  In  large 
factories  paint-stock  is  usually  prepared  by  specialists  (combers),  who 
are  employed  exclusively  upon  it.  All  the  various  assortments  are 
stored  away  separately  in  boxes,  ready  for  the  hands  of  other  special¬ 
ists  whose  business  it  is  to  compound  and  mix  them  in  due  proportions 
to  produce  brushes  of  certain  grades  and  values.  Under  the  direction 
of  the  foreman,  specified  quantities  of  stock,  in  the  different  sizes,  colors, 
and  qualities  known  by  experience  to  be  necessary  to  make  the  kind  of' 
brush  desired,  are  taken  from  the  store  and  piled  in  long  tiers  on  the 
bench,  each  tier  being  built  up  of  the  same  assortments  in  layers  of 
equal  and  uniform  thicknesses,  so  that  when  divided  into  vertical  sec¬ 
tions  each  section  will  be  composed  of  like  proportions  of  all  the  assort¬ 
ments.  Specimens  of  this  stock,  after  being  thoroughly  combed  and 
mixed,  are  submitted  to  the  foreman  for  examination.  If  found  satis¬ 
factory  it  is  all  combed,  mixed,  and  accurately  weighed  out  into  par- 
cels,  each  sufficient  for  a  brush,  less  the  casing.  Flat  paint  brushes  are 
eased  and  laid  up  the  same  as  calcimine  brushes.  The  sizes  are  smaller, 
however,  ranging  from  3  inches  to  5  inches  wide.  Many  are  not  cased; 
some  have  “chiseled  edges”  (a  characteristic  to  be  presently  explained),, 
and  some  of  the  smaller  varieties,  like  coach -painters’  color- brushes, 
and  camel’s-hair  varnishing  and  copying  brushes,  are  not  directly  at¬ 
tached  to  the  handle,  but  inserted  in  one  end  of  a  flat  tin  ferrule  with 
the  handle  in  the  other.  Rivets  or  clinch-nails  through  both  brush  and 
handle  fasten  the  whole  together  (Plates  XXX1Y,  XXXVII,  XXXVI II). 
For  oval  and  round  brushes  the  casing  is  accurately  weighed  out  and 
spread  on  the  bench  in  a  layer  of  uniform  thickness  and  just  long 
enough  to  envelop  the  brush  without  overlapping.  The  mixed  stock, 
previously  weighed  out,  is  spread  upon  it,  and  the  whole  deftly  rolled 
together  so  as  to  leave  the  casing  on  the  outside.  Each  parcel  is  finally 
tied  with  twine,  and  the  root-end,  dipped  in  cement,  is  inserted  into  a^ 
ring  of  proper  diameter,  generally  made  of  coiled  wire  with  the  helices 
soldered  together.  The  handle,  which  is  usually  in  the  form  of  a  slender 
cone,  is  then  driven  through  the  axis  of  the  brush  point  foremost  like  a 
wedge.  It  is  accurately  centered  among  the  flags,  and  driven  home 
with  a  heavy  hammer  and  a  graduated  drift.  ’  The  drift  is  necessary  to 
avoid  breaking  the  bristles  with  the  hammer,  and  to  indicate  the  exact 
depth  to  which  the  handle  is  required  to  be  buried  in  the  brush.  The 
end  of  the  handle  must  not  project  below  the  lower  margin  of  the  ring; 
otherwise  the  brush  will  have  too  much  spread  and  a  hollow  center. 
While  driving  the  handle  the  brush  rests,  flags  uppermost,  upon  an 
iron  plate  which  lies  on  the  bench,  and  has  a  hole  in  it  large  enough  to 
permit  the  handle  to  pass  through.  Sometimes,  to  make  the  most  of 
short  bristles,  t  he  brush  is  not  inserted  to  the  full  width  of  the  ring,  one- 
half  or  more  of  the  latter  being  frequently  filled  around  the  handle  with 
an  annular  block  of  wood.  The  wooden  block  may  be  inserted  into  the 
ring  at  the  same  time  with  the  brush  and  the  handle  driven  through 


49 


both,  or  the  handle  may  be  driven  with  the  brush  resting  on  a  raised 
disk  on  the  bench-plate  filling  the  ring  to  the  depth  it  is  designed  sub¬ 
sequently  to  plug  it  with  wood. 

Extreme  accuracy  is  necessary  in  assorting  and  weighing  stock  for 
brushes  of  this  kind,  in  order  that  the  driving  of  the  handle  may  neither 
burst  the  rings  nor  leave  the  bristles  so  loose  as  to  be  liable  to  fall  out 
with  a  slight  shrinkage  of  the  handle.  The  same  nicety  is  not  neces¬ 
sary  in  fitting  flat  brushes  into  the  binding  rings,  as  a  little  excess  of 
stock  merely  reduces  the  manufacturer’s  profit,  and  a  deficiency  only 
depreciates  the  brush  to  the  extent  of  the  value  of  the  missing  material. 

Formerly  twine  was  used  almost  exclusively  to  bind  round  and  oval 
brushes  to  the  handles,  but  latterly  it  has  been  almost  entirely  super¬ 
seded  by  wire  and  rings  of  solid  metal,  except  for  some  small  brushes 
like  sash-tools.  Solid  brass  rings  are  used  with  the  lower  edge  crimped 
in  to  make  the  brush  more  compact.  (Fig.  4,  Plate  XXXY.) 

Paint  brushes  made  by  the  process  just  described  are  termed  open- 
center  brushes ,  from  having  a  conical  hollow  below  the  handle,  as  seen 
in  Figs.  5  and  8,  Plate  XXXY,  which  represent  axial  sections  of  open- 
center  brushes  made  as  described,  except  that  there  are  pins  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  annular  wooden  plug  which  penetrate  the  brush  nearly 
to  the  lower  margin  of  the  ring.  This  latter  is  a  feature  patented  by 
John  L.  Whiting  &  Son,  and  is  applied  by  them  to  the  manufacture  of 
solid-center  brushes,  two  of  which  are  shown  in  section  in  Figs.  1  and  9, 
Plate  XXXY,  and  to  modifications  of  the  open-center  varieties.  (Figs. 
3  and  7,  Plate  XXXV.)  The  following  is  what  the  patentees  claim  for 
this  peculiar  method  of  construction: 

The  original  full-center  patent  has  several  advantages  over  the  old  style  of  manu¬ 
facture,  and  especially  over  brushes  having  butts  or  disks  of  wood  or  other  substances 
inserted  within  the  ferrule,  but  having  no  mechanical  connection  with  the  bristles: 

1.  It  is  much  stronger,  as  much  force  being  used  in  driving  the  handle  as  is  required 
in  the  old  method.  A  very  much  extended  surface  of  the  handle  is  brought  in  con¬ 
tact  with  the  bristles.  The  butts  of  the  bristles  are  saturated  with  the  best  of  brush- 
maker’s  cement,  so  that  the  holding  power  of  both  the  pressure  and  cement  is  pro¬ 
portionately  increased.  Practically,  the  bristles  and  handles  are  grown  together. 

2.  The  hollow  cone  in  the  center  of  the  brush,  a  necessity  of  the  old  method  of  man¬ 
ufacture,  being  entirely  obviated,  the  brush  cannot  “swallow-tail”  or  wear  out  in  the 
center,  but  wears  up  evenly  until  it  is  worn  out. 

3.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  bristles  are  evenly  distributed  throughout  the  brush, 
and  not  compressed  into  a  solid  ring  or  shell  between  the  handle  and  ferrule  around 
a  reservoir  for  paint  in  the  center  of  the  brush. 

Reservoirs  have  never  been  a  success  in  other  kinds  of  brushes,  and  have  only  been 
tolerated  in  paint  brushes  heretofore  from  necessity.  As  a  consequence  of  this  pecu¬ 
liarity  the  brush  is  a  little  more  mellow  than  other  kinds  of  brushes,  allowing  a  little 
more  elasticity  or  spring  near  the  ferrule,  and  in  consequence  will  wear  up  shorter 
before  being  laid  aside  as  a  “stub.” 

Concerning  the  modified  construction  shown  in  Fig.  3,  Plate  XXXV, 
they  say : 

This  brush  is  a  modification  of  the  original  full-center  brush,  and  by  some  consid¬ 
ered  an  improvement.  The  plug,  or  section  of  the  old-style  paint-handle,  driven  into 
the  center,  acts  on  the  principle  of  the  wedge  and  in  the  opposite  direction  from  the 
wedges  of  the  handle,  and  thus  holds  the  handle  and  bristles  within  the  ferrule,  if 
possible,  more  securely.  At  the  same  time,  the  central  space  being  very  small,  the 
brush  retains  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  advantages  of  the  full-center  brush. 

Referring  to  the  sash-tool  represented  in  Fig.  8,  Plate  XXXVI,  they 
say: 

All  the  merits  of  the  full-center  patent  are  embodied  in  this  brush.  Without  excep¬ 
tion,  it  bas  given  better  satisfaction  than  any  other  sash-tool  heretofore  manufact¬ 
ured. 

4 


5249— Ap.  21 


50 


Sash-tools  are  usually  made  with  solid  centers,  and  being  small,  can 
be  produced  by  various  means  not  practicable  with  larger  brushes.  A 
good  quality  is  made  by  a  process  (not  represented  in  the  accompanying 
illustrations)  similar  to  that  already  described  for  open-center  paint 
brushes,  the  difference  beingthat  the  wire  ring  isconical  and  the  handle  is 
driven  butt  end  foremost.  The  small  end  of  the  ring  embraces  the  brush 
and  the  large  end  the  handle.  The  brush-tuft  tightly  bound  with  thread 
and  dipped  in  cement  is  inserted,  flags  foremost,  into  the  ring  by  way 
of  the  larger  end,  and  the  handle  is  driven  in  after  it.  A  smali  cone 
formed  on  the  end  of  the  handle  penetrates  the  brush  to  the  lower  mar¬ 
gin  of  the  ring,  securely  wedging  in  the  bristles  without  a  tendency  to 
spread  them  below.  Very  satisfactory  sash-tools  are  also  made  by  in¬ 
serting  a  tuft  of  bristles,  bound  with  thread  and  smeared  with  cement, 
into  a  hole,  bored  in  the  end  of  the  handle,  of  such  a  diameter  as  to  leave 
only  a  thin  shell  of  wood.  This  shell  is  divided  into  six  or  eight  equal 
parts  by  saw-cuts  in  the  direction  of  the  axis,  to  permit  a  little  expan¬ 
sion,  an  easy  insertion  of  a  close-fitting  tuft,  and,  finally,  contraction  un¬ 
der  pressure  of  the  binding  twine. 

A  fourth  method  is  to  cut  away  the  central  portion  of  the  butt  end  of 
the  handle,  leaving  only  two  prongs  projecting  from  opposite  sides,  like 
a  fork,  between  winch  the  bristles  are  bound  with  twine  as  before  (see 
Plate  XXXVI).  Good  sash-tools  are  made  by  either  of  the  four  pro¬ 
cesses  described ;  though  the  first  two  are  thought  by  some  rather  supe¬ 
rior  to  the  others  in  point  of  durability,  and  are  preferred  if  equal  in 
other  respects.  Selection  is  generally  made,  however,  with  reference  to 
the  quality  of  the  bristles  rather  than  the  method  of  their  attachment  to 
the  handle.  The  best  sash-tools  are  not  cased  but  made  solid  of  French 
stock ;  a  lower  grade  is  made  of  white  Americau  stock  cased  with  French ; 
next  a  gray  American  center  with  French  casings;  and,  finally,  all  Amer¬ 
ican  stock. 

Brushes  designed  for  varnishing  differ  from  color  brushes  generally 
in  being  shorter  and  softer,  and  the  flat  varieties  in  being  much  smaller. 
The  processes  of  fabrication  are  the  same,  except  that  small  flat  brushes 
for  use  on  fine  work  with  a  thin  varnish  are  attached  to  the  handles 
in  a  somewhat  different  manner,  already  explained.  These  last  are 
usually  composed  of  some  softer  hair  than  bristles,  such  as  the  hair  of 
the  camel,  goat,  sable,  badger,  and  fitch  (skunk’s  hair),  &c.  (Plates 
XXXIV,  XXXV,  XXXVI,  XXXVII.) 

CHISELED  EDGES. 

To  obviate  the  objection  to  round  brushes,  made  by  a  correspondent  of 
the  Mechanic’s  Magazine,  already  quoted,  and  to  better  adapt  them  “for 
laying  on  a  flat  surface,”  they  have  lately  been  made  with  what  is  called 
.a  “chiseled  edge,”  that  is,  the  flags  of  the  bristles  are  so  disposed  as  to 
give  to  the  soft  end  of  the  brush  the  form  of  a  blunt  wedge.  This  im¬ 
provement  is  applied  to  both  paint  and  varnish  brushes,  and  to  the  flat 
varieties  as  well  as  to  the  round  and  oval.  The  proper  arrangement  of 
the  flags  to  form  the  “chiseled”  edge  is  effected  in  a  box  having  an  in¬ 
terior  shape  like  that  to  be  imparted  to  the  exterior  of  the  brush.  It  is 
open  at  the  top,  and  the  bottom  is  closed  by  two  plane  surfaces  equally 
inclined  to  the  axis,  and  intersecting  in  a  line  perpendicular  to  it.  It  is 
large  enough  in  diameter  to  permit  the  easy  introduction  of  all  the  bris¬ 
tles  for  the  brush,  and  in  depth  something  less  than  their  length.  The 
bristles  are  first  prepared  without  “taper,”  and  accurately  weighed  as 
for  other  forms  of  brushes,  then  combed  and  introduced,  flags  downward, 


51 


into  the  box.  The  slopes  of  the  bottom  are  coated  with  flue  sand  and 
glue,  so  that  the  flags  do  not  slip  down  toward  the  center,  but  remain 
in  a  vertical  position.  By  gently  jarring  the  box  all  the  bristles  sink 
until  they  come  in  contact  with  the  sanded  surfaces,  so  that  finally  the 
soft  end  of  the  bundle  of  bristles  assumes  the  exact  shape  of  the  bottom 
of  the  box.  The  root  end  is  then  firmly  bound  with  twine  before  re¬ 
moval  from  the  box.  The  roots,  made  uneven  by  the  process,  are 
trimmed  off  with  shears  similar  to  those  used  for  cutting  up  stock. 
The  brush  is  then  finished  by  one  of  the  processes  described  for  either 
solid  or  open  center  brushes.  The  chisel  shape  is  also  produced  by  a 
process  nearly  the  reverse  of  that  just  described.  The  tuft  is  weighed 
out  as  before  and  securely  tied  by  the  middle.  The  chisel  shape  is  first 
given  to  the  root  end  by  clipping  with  shears,  and  is  then  transferred  to 
the  flag  end  by  loosening  the  ligature  and  “butting  down”  the  short¬ 
ened  hairs.* 

STENCIL  BRUSHES. 

The  best  stencil  brushes  are  square  at  the  end,  short,  solid,  and  mod¬ 
erately  stiff".  They  are  usually  made  of  bristles  with  the  flags  cut  off. 
Ordinary  paint  brushes  are  unsuitable  for  the  purpose  on  account  of 
their  length  and  pliability,  and  the  consequent  tendency  of  the  hairs  to 
bend  and  work  the  color  under  the  edges  of  the  stencil,  wherever  it 
does  not  lie  closely  upon  the  work,  leaving  the  painted  figures  with 
jagged  margins.  Stencil  brushes  are  mounted  either  on  long  handles 
like  paint  brushes  (Fig.  10,  Plate  XXXY),  or  on  short  handles  like 
barbers  shaving  brushes  (Figs.  2  and  3,  Plate  XXXIX). 

GRAINERS’  AND  GILDERS’  BRUSHES. 

These  present  no  new  feature  in  construction  or  material  sufficiently 
characteristic  to  claim  especial  description,  excepting  such  as  may  be 
classed  as  pencils.  Those  in  most  common  use  are  represented  in  Plates 
XXXVIII,  XXXIX,  and  XL. 

PENCILS,  ARTISTS’  AND  FRESCO  BRUSHES. 

Pencils  differ  from  brushes  in  the  smallness  of  their  size,  and  in  being  manufactured 
of  a  much  finer  and  softer  hair.  In  some  cases  the  hair  of  the  marten,  or  of  children, 
and  even  swans’  down,  are  used  for  them  ;  but  these  are  generally  confined  to  pencils 
intended  for  artists,  the  mechanical  painter  being  rarely  ever  engaged  in  work  of  such 
a  delicate  nature  as  to  require  them.  The  smallest  are  fitted  into  the  barrels  of  quills, 
the  larger  sort  into  tin  cases,  both  placed  at  the  end  of  sticks  ;  some,  of  a  very  large- 
size,  are  fastened  into  stocks  in  the  same  manner  as  brushes.  In  choosing  pencils  a 
very  simple  trial  will  prove  whether  they  are  fit  for  your  purpose.  You  have  only  to- 
put  them  into  your  mouth,  and  after  wetting  them  a  little,  draw  them  out  between 
your  tongue  and  upper  lip  ;  then,  if  they  present  a  sharp  point,  and  the  hairs  come- 
out  full  next  to  the  case  and  without  separating,  the  pencils  are  good  ;  if  the  hairs, 
show  ragged  or  are  thin  at  the  opposite  eud  to  the  point,  they  cannot  be  depended! 
upon.  The  sharpness  of  the  point  is  of  particular  consequence  in  small  peucils.  The- 
same  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  hairs  being  fast  bound  in  the  stocks-or  cases,  as 
directed  in  the  choice  of  brushes. 

With  regard  to  the  stick  or  stock  attached  to  the  pencil,  it  ought  never  to  be  less- 
than  eight  inches;  aud,  indeed,  the  greater  the  length,  provided  the  workman  earn 
handle  it  with  freedom  and  certainty,  the  better;  for  it  is  as  impossible  for  a  painter- 
to  have  a  good  command  of  his  pencil  as  a  writer  of  his  pen  if  he  held  it  too  near 
the  point,  t  *  *  * 


*  These  are  the  common  methods  employed  by  most  manufacturers  for  making- 
chiseled  edges.  If  other  means  of  effecting  the  same  object  are  known  they  are 
guarded  as  secrets  by  their  discoverers. 

t  Painters’,  Gilders’,  and  Varnishers’  Companion. 


52 


Hair  pencils  or  brushes  for  painting. — Two  sorts  are  made:  those  with  coarse  hair,  as 
that  of  the  swine,  the  wild  boar,  the  dog,  &c.,  which  are  attached  usually  to  short 
wooden  rods  as  handles — these  are  commonly  called  blushes — and  “hair  pencils,”  prop¬ 
erly  so  called,  which  are  composed  of  very  line  hairs,  as  of  the  minever,  the  marten, 
the  badger,  the  polecat,  &c.  These  are  mounted  in  a  quill  when  they  are  small  or 
of  moderate  size,  but  when  larger  thau  a  quill  they  are  mouuted  in  white  iron  tubes. 

The  most  essential  quality  of  a  good  peucil  is  to  form  a  fine  point,  so  that  all  the 
hairs,  without  exception,  may  be  united  when  they  are  moistened  by  laying  them 
upon  the  tongue  or  drawing  them  through  the  lips.  When  hairs  present  the  form  of 
an  elongated  cone  in  a  pencil,  their  point  only  can  be  used.  The  whole  difficulty  con¬ 
sists,  after  the  hairs  are  cleansed,  in  arranging  them  together  so  that  all  their  points 
may  lie  in  the  same  horizontal  plane.  We  must  wash  the  tails  of  the  animals  whose 
hairs  are  to  be  used  by  scouring  them  in  a  solution  of  alum  till  they  be  quite  free 
from  grease,  aud  then  steeping  them  for  twenty-four  hours  in  lukewarm  water.  We 
next  squeeze  out  the  water,  by  pressing  them  strongly  from  the  root  to  the  tip,  in 
order  to  lay  the  hairs  as  smooth  as  possible.  They  are  to  be  dried  with  pressure  in 
linen  cloths,  combed  in  the  longitudinal  direction  with  a  very  line  toothed  comb,  and 
finally  wrapped  up  in  line  linen  and  dried.  When  perfectly  dried,  the  hairs  are  seized 
with  pincers,  cut  across  close  to  the  skin,  and  arranged  in  separate  heaps,  according 
to  their  respective  lengths.  Each  of  these  little  heaps  is  placed  separately,  one  after 
the  other,  in  small  tin  pans  with  flat  bottoms,  with  the  tips  of  the  hair  upwards.  On 
striking  the  bottom  of  the  pan  slightly  upon  the  table  the  hairs  get  arranged  parallel 
to  each  other,  aud  their  delicate  points  rise  more  or  less  according  to  their  lengths. 
The  larger  ones  are  to  be  picked  out  and  made  into  so  many  separate  parcels,  whereby 
each  parcel  may  be  composed  of  equally  long  hairs.  The  perfection  of  the  pencil 
depends  upon  this  quality,  the  tapering  point  being  produced  simply  by  the  attenu¬ 
ation  of  the  tips.  A  pinch  of  one  of  these  parcels  is  then  taken,  of  a  thickness  corre¬ 
sponding  to  the  intended  size  of  the  peucil;  it  is  set  in  a  little  tin  pan,  with  its  tips 
undermost,  and  is  shaken  by  striking  the  pan  on  the  table  as  before.  The  root  ends 
of  the  hairs  being  tied  by  the  fisherman’s  or  seamen’s  knot  with  a  fine  thread,  it  is 
taken  out  of  the  pan  aud  theu  hooped  with  stronger  thread  or  twine,  the  knots 
being  drawn  very  tight  by  means  of  the  little  sticks.  The  distance  from  the  tips  at 
which  these  ligatures  are  placed  is,  of  course,  relative  to  the  nature  of  the  hair  and 
the  desired  length  of  the  pencil.  The  base  of  the  pencil  must  be  trimmed  flat  with 
a  pair  of  scissors.  Nothing  now  remains  to  be  done  but  to  mount  the  peucils  in  quill 
or  tin-plate  tubes  as  above  described.  The  quills  are  those  of  swans,  geese,  ducks, 
lapwings,  pigeons,  or  larks,  according  to  the  size  of  the  pencils.  They  are  steeped 
during  twenty-four  hours  in  water,  to  swell  and  soften  them,  and  to  prevent  the 
chance  of  their  splitting  when  the  hair  brush  is  pressed  into  them.  The  brush  of  hair 
is  introduced  by  its  tips  into  the  large  end  of  the  cut  quill,  having  previously  drawn 
them  to  a  point  with  the  lips,  when  it  is  pushed  forwards  with  a  wire  of  the  same 
diameter  till  it  comes  out  at  the  other  and  narrower  end  of  the  quill.  The  smaller 
the  pencil  the  finer  the  hairs  ought  to  be.  In  this  respect  the  manufacture  requires 
much  delicacy  of  tact  aud  experience.  It  is  said  there  are  only  four  first-rate  hands 
amongst  all  the  dexterous  pencil-makers  of  Paris,  and  that  these  are  principally 
women.* 

CONCLUSION. 

It  may  be  superfluous  to  add  that  this  report  was  not  intended  to  do 
more  titan  throw  a  little  light  on  the  subject  of  brush-making  and  the 
various  industrial  and  commercial  interests  involved  in  it.  It  would 
have  been  impracticable,  even  if  desirable,  to  make  it  a  complete  brush- 
maker’s  manual.  The  accomplishment  of  such  an  undertaking  would 
require  long  familiarity  with  the  business  in  all  its  details,  or  persistent 
inquiry  among  craftsmen  engaged  in  it ;  the  one  only  possible  to  a  prac¬ 
tical  brush-maker,  and  the  other  only  successful  to  one  able  to  offer  an 
equivalent  for  what  he  seeks.  Brush-makers  naturally  do  not  relish 
being  interviewed  on  the  subject  of  their  business,  especially  when  the 
interview  does  not  point  unmistakably  to  an  advancement  of  their  inter¬ 
ests,  and  the  inquirer  is  often  as  likely  to  be  altogether  misled  as  to 
get  any  reliable  information  upon  matters  affected  by  competition. 
There  are  few  manufacturing  industries  in  which  competition  is  sharper; 
and',  it  may  be  said,  few  in  which  resort  is  had  to  so  many  cunning 
expedients  to  reduce  the  cost  of  manufactures  without  depreciating 

*Ure’s  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Manufactures,  aud  Mines. 


53 


them  in  the  market.  It  should  be  remembered  that  all  standard  types 
of  brushes  are  determined  by  the  demand,  and  that  all  manufacturers 
are  compelled  to  produce  substantially  the  same  varieties,  so  that  hon¬ 
est  competition  is  mainly  limited  to  quality  of  workmanship  and  of  ma¬ 
terials.  Many  types  are,  however,  slightly  modified  in  the  details  of 
construction,  by  makers  who  frequently  control  by  patent  some  pecu¬ 
liarity  which,  perhaps,  increases  the  demand,  lessens  the  cost,  or 
operates  in  some  way  to  give  an  advantage  in  trade.  The  patented 
features  at  least  give  a  monopoly  of  manufacture,  and  furnish  the  pat¬ 
entee  a  basis  for  pretended  superiority  of  his  brushes,  which  often 
serves  his  purpose  as  well  as  intrinsic  excellence. 

The  more  mischievous  modifications  of  standard  types  are  those 
which  are  not  so  apparent,  and  which  are  resorted  to  for  purposes  of 
deception.  Concerning  these  “tricks  of  the  trade”  little  could  be 
learned.  Brush-makers  who  practice  them  cannot  be  expected  to  be 
communicative  on  the  subject.  Interested  visitors  are  either  wholly 
excluded  from  their  workshops,  or  are  only  admitted  to  certain  depart¬ 
ments,  and  at  times  when  an  ostentatious  display  of  honest  work  can 
be  made,  so  that  it  is  only  when  exposed  by  a  rival  manufacturer  or  a 
defrauded  purchaser  that  their  counterfeits  become  known  and  can  be 
avoided.  In  this  important  particular  this  report  is  much  less  full  than 
could  be  desired;  yet,  through  the  politeness  of  a  few  prominent  manu¬ 
facturers,  and  limited  opportunities  for  observation  among  dealers  and 
users,  some  information  has  been  obtained,  for  example,  that  the  stamp 
4  warranted  all  bristles”  on  the  back  of  a  horse-brush  is  no  guaranty 
that  it  does  not  contain  a  large  percentage  of  tampico;  that  the  mark 
“  warranted  best  quality  of  okatka”is  no  sure  indication  that  the  brush 
is  not  made  of  “ paint-stubs”  or  of  worn-out  whitewash  or  calcimine 
brushes,  and,  perhaps,  adulterated  with  vegetable  fiber;  that  although 
paint  brushes  may  be  “warranted  full  standard  weight,”  there  is  rea¬ 
sonable  ground  for  suspicion  that  they  may  be  loaded  with  lead,  either 
in  the  form  of  a  plug  in  that  portion  of  the  handle  buried  in  the 
brush,  or  of  thin  strips  among  the  bristles  under  the  ferrule;  that  not¬ 
withstanding  paint  brushes  may  be  of  standard  length,  it  is  still  possi¬ 
ble  that  they  are  composed  of  short  stock  made  to  appear  long  by 
insufficient  insertion  into  the  ferrule  to  make  a  secure  attachment  to  the 
haudle;  that  whatever  the  marks  on  a  brush,  and  whatever  its  adver¬ 
tised  qualities,  it  is  (unless  recognized  as  the  product  of  a  well-known 
and  reliable  manufacturer)  likely  to  prove  inferior  to  what  is  claimed  for 
it;  and  likely  to  contain  all  the  cheap  material  that  can  be  worked  into 
it  without  danger  of  detection.  In  fact,  almost  all  the  cheaper  varieties 
of  horse-brushes  in  the  market  are  either  composed  of  inferior  domestic 
bristles,  “paint-stubs,”  or  some  mixture  of  fiber  and  hair,  such  as  are 
shown  in  Plate  XII;  even  those  sold  at  high  prices  are  often  found  to 
be  only  spurious  imitations. 

Under  the  coutract  system  of  procuring  supplies  for  the  military 
service  some  imposition  is  sure  to  be  encountered,  and  cannot  be  guarded 
against,  even  in  the  selection  of  samples,  without  constant  vigilance 
and  the  closest  scrutiny  by  experienced  inspectors.  The  chances  of 
securing  brushes  of  standard  excellence  are  not  much  improved  when 
the  Government  supplies  all  materials.  “  Thrifty  ”  contractors  may  still 
44  economize”  government  stock  and  eke  it  out  with  their  own  baser  ma¬ 
terials,  whether  the  compensation  for  their  work  be  high  or  low.  Greed 
of  gain  seems  as  likely  to  seek  to  swell  a  profit  already  large  as  to  cre¬ 
ate  a  profit  where  little  if  any  is  honestly  possible.  Experience  at  this 
arsenal  points  to  this  conclusion.  As  much  as  one  dollar  each  for  labor 


54 


only  has  been  demanded  for  making  liorse-brushes  (a  price  considered 
extortionate,  and  believed  to  be  incompatible  with  honest  purposes), 
while  at  another  time  another  manufacturer  proposed  to  do  the  same 
work  for  26  cents,  or  a  price  so  low  as  to  barely  cover  the  cost  of  the 
various  operations  at  the  usual  prices  paid  for  piecework,  and  at  which 
little  if  any  profit  could  be  made  except  by  adulteration  of  the  stock 
or  by  inferior  workmanship. 

The  obvious  deduction  from  these  facts  is  that  brushes  for  the  military 
service  should  be  manufactured  in  the  Government  workshops  and  un¬ 
der  the  direct  supervision  of  some  of  its  officers.  Only  skillful  workmen 
should  be  employed,  and  great  care  exercised  in  the  selection  of  bristles. 

By  observing  these  precautions  the  manufacture  of  horse-brushes  has 
already  been  successfully  undertaken  at  Watervliet  Arsenal,  and  can 
no  doubt  be  continued  with  great  advantage  to  the  Government  and  to 
the  military  service,  particularly  if  the  appropriations  for  the  work  and 
the  orders  for  fabrication  can  be  so  arranged  as  to  warrant  the  promise 
of  constant  employment  to  the  few  skilled  workmen  who  are  necessary, 
but  who  cannot  otherwise  be  easily  obtained  except  by  payment  of  ex¬ 
orbitant  wages.  Of  course  the  economy  of  this  method  of  supplying 
brushes  will  be  affected  by  the  number  required  to  be  fabricated. 

Brushes,  like  almost  every  other  manufactured  article,  can  be  produced 
in  large  much  cheaper  than  in  small  quantites.  To  gain,  therefore,  the 
greatest  possible  advantage  from  the  enterprise,  all  brushes  for  every 
department  of  the  military  service  should  be  made  at  the  same  estab¬ 
lishment,  and  should  include  paint,  varnish,  whitewash,  calcimine, 
scrubbing,  molders,  bench  and  stencil  brushes,  sash-tools,  pencils,  &c. 
Extending  the  manufacture  to  embrace  other  varieties  would  not,  how¬ 
ever,  provide  additional  work  for  men  usually  employed  on  horse  brushes. 
Most  of  the  operations  of  paint-brush-making  are  specialties,  and  the 
same  number  of  men  would  be  required  for  this  branch  of  the  business 
as  though  no  horse-brushes  were  made. 

The  advantages  to  be' gained  from  the  enlarged  scope  of  the  project 
would  be  greater  economy  of  manufacture,  and  improvement  in  the 
quality  of  all  the  products.  The  stock  would  be  all  consumed  without 
waste,  and  no  brush  would  contain  stock  not  entirely  suitable  for  it. 
The  soft  hair,  always  found  among  okatkas,  would  not  be  worked  into 
horse-brushes,  increasing  their  cost  without  adding  much  to  their  value, 
but  would  be  separated  from  horse-brush  stock  and  turned  to  more 
profitable  account  in  the  manufacture  of  other  kinds  of  brushes,  for 
which  it  is  better  adapted. 

Finally,  the  Government  should  import  its  own  bristles,  or  purchase 
only  bonded  or  debentured  stock,  and  so  save  to  the  military  appropri¬ 
ations  the  15  cents  per  pound  duty  that  would  otherwise  have  to  be 
added  to  the  cost  of  fabrication. 

The  names  of  most  manufacturers,  dealers,  importers,  &c.,  who  have 
in  one  way  or  another  contributed  to  the  matter  of  the  foregoing  report, 
have  been  mentioned  therein  and  their  services  duly  recognized.  Be¬ 
sides  these  the  name  of  Mr.  Henry  Kroehl,  an  importer  of  New  York, 
should  be  mentioned  with  especial  acknowledgments.  To  his  large  ex¬ 
perience  and  curtesy  the  writer  is  indebted  for  much  information  con¬ 
cerning  the  traffic  in  foreign  bristles. 

A.  L.  VARNEY, 

Captain  of  Ordnance . 


O 


PLATE  I 


Fig.  2. 


MACHINE  FOR  CLEANING  AND  SEPARATING  BRISTLES. 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLAT  E  1  f 


Appendix  21 — 1S83. 


PLATE  TII 


sri .  3 


Machine  for  Combing  Dry 


Bristles. 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  IV 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


MACHINE  FOR  DRAGGING  BRISTLES. 


PLATE  V 


Appendix  21—1883. 


t, 


* 


PLATE  V  I 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  VI . 


MACHINE  FOR  SEPARATING  BRISTLES. 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


■I 


2  Sheets — Sheet  1. 


Pi.  ATE  VIII. 


Method  of  and  Machinery  for  Arranging  Bristles. 


Appendix  21 — 1888. 


2  Sheets — Sheet  2. 


PLATE  IX 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATK  X 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  XI 


Appendix  21  1883. 


PLATE  XII 


Appendix  21  1883 


PLATE  XIII 


AGAVE  SISILALTA 
(tashqtji) 


A-rro endix  21  1883 


PLATE  XV 


Appendix  211885 


AGAVE  MEXICAEA 


PLATE  XVI. 


AGAVE  AMERICANA 

(century  plant) 


Appendix  21  1883. 


The  Heliotype  Printing  Co  Boston. 


PLATE  xvn 


AGAVE  YIRG-INICA 


Appendix.  21  1883. 


■PLATE  XVIII 


BROMELIA  SYLVESTRIS  OP  PENGUIN 
(wild  pxnte  apple  ) 


Appendix  21  1883. 


7he  Hefictype  Printing  Co.  Boston 


PLATE  XIX. 


BRO'MELIA  ANANAS 

(PITsTEJ  APPLE.) 


Appendix  21  1883. 


ihA  Heliotype  Printing  Co.  Bo  :  u,/ 


PLATE  XX 


AKENGA  SAC  CHARIFERA 


Appendix  21  1883 


lhn  Hetioiype  f’rintin/j  Co.  Boston 


PLATE  XXI 


YUCCA  GLORIOSA 

(SPANISH  BAYUNET) 


Ap-pendix  21  1883 


the  Hehoiypn  F’rinliruj  Co  Boston 


_ _ 


PILATE  XXII. 


YU  C  CA  ALOIF  OLIA 


Appendix  21  1883. 


The  Heliotype  Printing  Co  Boston 


PLATE  XXIH 


Appendix  21  1883. 


r 


PLATE  AXTV; 


Appendix  21  1883. 


Jhe  HeHoiype  F’tiftiing  Co.  Bo  si  on 


Appendix  21  1883. 


The  Heliotype  Printing  Co  Boston 


PLATE  XXVI 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  XXVII 


Appendix  21 — 1383. 


PIATE  XXV1H 


Appendix  21  1883 


Jhe  Hetiotypc  Printing  Co.  Boston 


PLATE  XXIX 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


XXX 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE 


Painters’  or  Glaziers'  Duster 


PLATE  XXXI 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  XXXII 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


I 


ELATE  XXXin 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  XXXIV 


Wall  Paint  Brushes. 


Chiselled  Flat  Bristle  Varnish-Brusht 


Coach  Painters 


WOOD  FILUBIG. 


Stucco. 


Single  Thick  Flat  Varnish-Brush 

In  tin.  All  French  bristles. 


Cornice. 


Brass  Bound. 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  XXXV 


Patent  Full-Centre  Paint-Brush. 


Patent  Open-Centre  Paint-Brush. 


3 

Combination  Patent  Brush. 


Roofing  Paint-Brush 


Chiselled  Varnish-Brush 


4 

Chiseled 

Carriage  Varnish  Brush 

OYAE.  WIRE  BOUND. 


6 


Oval  Paint-Brush 


Whitings’  Pearl  Varnish-Brush 


7 

Blind-Brush 


8 

Stencil-Brush 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


* 


PLATE  XXXVI 


■ 

X 

to 


c 

to 

I— 

z: 

LJ 

s— 

<s 

0. 

Q  to 

UJ  — 1 

>o 

°2 
CC  >-~ 
Q- 


to 

o 


X 


5 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


FLAT  VARNISH  BRUSHES 


PLATE  XXXVII 


French  C.  H.  Varnish  Brushes. 


PLATE  XXXVTII 


Oak  Grainer 


Snake  Grainer 


Stipplers,  or  Walnut  Crainers. 


Fan,  or  Top  Crainers. 


English  Grainer 


C.  H.  Mottling  Brushes,  or  Spalter 
_ _ _ _ 


Piped  Over  Crainers. 
Bristle  &  Sable 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  XXXIX 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


PLATE  XL 


Appendix  21 — 188.3. 


.  Striping  Pencils. 


PLATE  X I 


Appendix  21 — 1883. 


°fu  - 


_ 


_ 


A 


✓ 


